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LIBRARY 

theological  ^cminariu 

FRiyCETOy.  X.  J 
No.  Case, 

No.  Shelf,  

No.  Book, 

IsiiD.  


From  the  Rev.  W.  B.  SPRAGUE,  D.D.  Sept.  1839. 


Bpr^ue  CfillecHon*  VoL 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2015 


https://archive.org/details/abstractofjourna00baco_2 


ABSTRACT  OF  A JOURNAL 

KEPT  BT  - 

ASSISTANT  AGENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 


TO 

AFRICA: 


CONTAINING 


EXTRACTS  FROM  THE  NORTH  AMERICAN  REVIEW, 

ON  THE  SUBJECT  OF  AFRICA. 


CONTAINING  CUTS, 

SHOWING 

A CONTRAST  BETWEEN  TWO  NATIVE  TOWNS. 


4 

THIRD  EDITION. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

Clark  & Raser,  Printers,  S3  Carter’s  Alley. 
1824. 


PREFACE. 


TItE  public  have  been  already  informed  of  the  strenuous  exer- 
tions of  the  United  States  government,  in  enacting  numerous  laws 
for  the  purpose  of  suppressing  the  slave  trade  ; and  of  the  success- 
ful vigilance  of  our  naval  officers,  in  detecting  those  desperadoes, 
the  slave-traders,  and  bringing  them  to  justice. 

The  public  have  also  been  informed  of  the  bertevolent  operations 
of  the  American  Colonization  Society,  in  endeavouring  to  form  a 
settlement  on  the  western  coast  of  Africa,  composed  of  those  free 
people  of  colour  who  choose  to  emigrate  thither.  It  is  moreover 
known  that  this  settlement,  if  established,  may  prove  an  asylum  for 
those  Africans,  who  shall  be  recaptured  by  the  United  States* 
cruisers  and  sent  to  the  coast. 

There  is  reason  to  hope  that  these  acts  of  mercy  will  contribute 
to  meliorate  the  sufferings  of  a large  portion  of  the  human  race,  by 
the  final  abolition  of  the  slave  trade,  that  scourge  of  Africa  and 
disgrace  of  the  civilized  world;  by  introducing  the  arts  of  civili- 
zation and  the  blessings  of  the  Christian  religion,  among  a race  of 
beings  who  have  hitherto  lived  in  heathen  darkness,  destitute  of 
the  light  of  the  gospel,  or  knowledge  of  a Saviour,  by  teaching  the 
children  of  Ethiopia  to  stretch  forth  their  hands  unto  God. 

Having  been  employed  as  an  assistant  agent  of  the  United 
States,  along  with  J.  B.  Winn,  Esq.  principal  agent  in  transporting 
to  the  coast  of  Africa  a number  of  recaptured  Africans  and  free 
people  of  colour;  the  author  has  had  an  opportunity  of  witnessing 
the  degraded  state  of  that  section  of  the  earth,  and  feels  it  a duty 
he  owes  to  the  souls  of  his  fellow  creatures,  to  lay  before  the  Chris- 
tian world  a plain  statement  of  facts  in  relation  to  the  subject, 
which  he  doubts  not  will  be  interesting  to  all,  and  confidently 
trusts  useful  to  many. 

It  may  be  proper  to  mention,  that  Mr.  Winn,  and  tlie  author, 
were  accompanied  in  the  expedition  by  the  Rev.  J.  R.  Andrus, 
principal,  and  Mr.  C.  Wdltberger,  assistant  agents  of  the  Coloniza- 
tion Society,  together  with  Mrs.  Winn  and  Mrs.  Bacon,  in  the  brig 
Nautilus,  Captain  Blair. 

N.  B.  The  author’s  return  was  caused  by  ill  health. 


ABSTRACT,  &c. 


AVE  left  Norfolk  on  the  .21st  of  January,  1821,  and  on  the  23d 
sailed  from  Hampton  Roads.  For  about  thirty  days  we  encoun- 
tered head  winds  and  strong  gales,  and  made  slow  progress.  Du- 
ring this  time  I was  very  sea-sick,  as  were  also  Mrs.  Bacon,  and 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Andrus.  The  other  agents  were  less  afflicted ; some 
of  the  colonists  suffered  from  the  same  malady.  Our  captain  was 
remarkably  kind  and  attentive  to  those  who  were  sick,  and  parti- 
cularly to  Mrs.  Bacon  and  myself,  when  we  were  unable  to  wait 
upon  ourselves,  for  which  kindness  I shall  always  feel  myself  under 
very  many  obligations  to  him ; and  I think  I speak  the  sentiments 
of  my  colleagues.  Nothing  uncommon  occurred  during  our  voyage, 
except  that  we  experienced  a very  severe  gale  of  wind,  accompa- 
nied with  a snow  storm,  which  our  captain  told  us  was  more  vio- 
lent than  any  he  had  known  during  the  preceding  twenty  years. 
It  was  indeed  a time  to  try  our  faith. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  voyage,  we  established  morning 
and  evening  prayers  in  the  cabin,  as  well  as  in  the  steerage,  where 
the  coloured  people  were;  in  these  we  enjoyed  the  consolations  of 
the  religion  we  profess. 

We  had  all  recovered  from  sea-sickness,  and  having  arrived 
within  the  tropics,  where  the  weather  was  fine  and  the  w ind  favour- 
able, our  passage  was  more  agreeable.  Nothing  uncommon  occur- 
red during  the  remainder  of  our  voyage.  But  a continuation  of  the 
mercies  of  our  heavenly  Father  were  daily  bestowed  upon  us.  On 
the  morning  of  the  8th  of  March,  we  had  a distant  view  of  the 
mountains  of  Sierra  Leone,  which  was  really  animating  to  us  after 
crossing  the  Atlantic.  We  felt  ourselves  approaching  towards  that 
much  injured  country,  where  we  expected  to  labour,  and  to  suffer 
many  and  great  afflictions.  We  were  cheered  with  the  hope,  that 
through  the  assistance  of  Divine  grace,  we  should  be,  in  a greater 
or  less  degree,  useful  among  the  degraded  children  of  Africa.  The 
wind  was  fair  but  rather  light,  as  is  not  uncommon  in  the  dry  sea- 
son. AVe  soon  hove  in  sight  of  Cape  Sierra  Leone,  when  we  dis- 
covered, for  the  first  time,  several  native  canoes  approaching  to- 
ward us.  These  excited  our  curiosity.  They  were  manned  by  the 
native  Kroomen,  in  a state  of  nudity,  or  nearly  so.'  When  I speak 
<»f  naked  people,  it  may  be  always  understood  that  they  wear  a cloth 


4 


about  their  loins,  and  that  the  men  generally  wear  hats.  These 
hats  are  manufactured  out  of  a kind  of  grass.  The  chiefs  and  head- 
men often  wear  common  English  hats. 

We  soon  discovered  a fine  English  barge  approaching  us,  rowed 
by  natives.  In  this  were  the  harbour  master,  George  Macaulay 
and  S.  Easton,  esquires,  (of  the  house  of  the  honourable  K.  Macau- 
lay) who  very  politely  gave  us  much  interesting  information,  rela- 
tive to  our  American  blacks  at  Sherbro.  As  we  approached  near 
the  harbour,  they  gave  the  American  agents  a friendly  invitation 
to  go  on  shore  in  the  barge,  and  take  lodgings  at  their  house.  As 
the  principal  agent  concluded  to  remain  on  board,  Mrs.  Bacon  and 
myself  thought  proper  not  to  slight  their  politeness,  our  accommo- 
dations in  the  brig  being  somewhat  circumscribed,  and  the  transi- 
tion from  Norfolk,  where  the  cold  was. excessive,  to  Sierra  Leone, 
where  the  degrees  of  heat  were  at  noon  day  from  85  to  87^  in  the 
shade,  making  a visit  to  land  desirable.  Moreover  the  service#  of 
all  the  agents  were  not  required  to  attend  to  the  wants  of  the  peo- 
ple. W’e  accordingly  went  on  shore,  where  we  were  politely  and 
hospitably  entertained  for  several  days. 

The  agents  of  the  United  States,  together  with  those  of  the  So- 
ciety, soon  had  an  interview  with  the  Rev.  Daniel  Coker,  by  whom 
we  learnt  the  condition  of  the  American  settlers  at  Sherbro.  He 
informed  us  that  the  mortality,  although  severely  felt  in  the  loss  of 
our  valuable  agents,  and  Mr.  Townsend,  commandant  of  the  United 
States  schooner  Augusta,  together  with  six  of  his  men,  and  a boy, 
was  not  so  ^reat  as  at  first  reported.  The  whole  number  of  blacks 
who  died,  did  not  exceed  twenty-three,  out  of  the  eighty-eight  sent 
out  in  the  ship  Elizabeth.  Several  of  those  deaths  were  not  caused 
by  the  prevailing  fever.  The  actual  number  of  blacks  who  died 
with  fever,  did  not  exceed  eighteen  or  nineteen,  all  of  whom  died 
at  Kizzell’s  Place.  Although  very  many  of  the  settlers  were  ex- 
tremely ill  when  they  left  Kizzell’s  Place,  and  removed  to  Yonie, 
a more  healthy  part  of  Sherbro  island,  and  the  time  of  their  re- 
moval was  the  month  of  August,  in  the  midst  of  the  rainy  season, 
still  no  deaths  by  fever  occurred  at  Yonie;  but  on  the  contrary,  a 
general  recovery  took  place,  notwithstanding  there  was  no  medical 
aid.  The  sickness  at  Kizzell’s  Place  was  evidently  in  a great  de- 
gree owing  to  local  causes:  the  water  alone  is  said  to  be  sufficiently 
bad  to  create  malignant  disorders,  though  Kizzell  was  base  enough 
to  assert  that  it  contained  peculiar  qualities  highly  conducive  to 
health.  That,  and  other  false  assertions,  induced  the  former  agents 
to  receive  his  offer  of  friendship;  pretending,  as  he  did,  to  un- 
bounded influence  among  the  native  chiefs;  an  ardent  desire  to 
further  the  benevolent  objects  of  our  government  and  the  Society; 
to  benefit  America;  to  meliorate  the  condition  of  the  African  race, 
and  propagate  the  glorious  gospel  of  God  in  a heathen  land. 

After  making  other  necessary  inquiries  of  Mr.  Coker,  and  of 
those  gentlemen  in  Sierra  Leone,  with  whom  we  were  most  conver- 
sant; also  of  some  of  the  American  blacks  who  went  out  with  Paul 
Cuftee,  and  of  Nathaniel  Peck,  who  accompanied  the  first  expedi- 


o 


tion ; \\c  were  fully  satisfied  that  Mr.  Coker  liad  managed  the  bu- 
siness of  the  expedition,  after  the  decease  of  the  former  agents,  in 
as  judicious  a manner  as  the  circumstances  of  the  case  would 
admit. 

We  lost  no  time  after  our  arrival,  in  communicating  with  the 
acting  governor,  his  honour  John  Grant,  upon  the  subject  of  our 
mission. 

The  American  agents  received  a polite  invitation  to  breakfast 
with  him  at  the  Government  House  on  Saturday  morning,  the  10th 
of  March.  We  there  met  his  excellency,  together  with  his  honour- 
able council,  after  partaking  of  a sumptuous  breakfast  of  great  va- 
riety, served  up  in  elegant  style. 

The  several  benevolent  objects  of  our  government,  and  those  of 
the  Society  were  fully  explained ; and  an  open  and  candid  exposi- 
tion of  our  instructions  made  after  this  friendly  interview  ; his  ex- 
cellency gave  us  a verv  polite  invitation  to  dine  at  the  Government 
House,  on  Tuesday  the  13th  of  March  ; which  we  did  accordingly, 
and  partook  of  an  elegant  dinner,  served  up  in  much  splendour. 
There  were  at  table  a number  of  the  principal  gentlemen,  otficers 
of  the  colonial  government,  Spanish  commissioners,  English  mis- 
sionaries, and  several  ladies. 

The  very  friendly  disposition  which  the  colonial  authorities  ma- 
nifested towards  the  objects  of  our  mission,  may  be  seen  by  a refer- 
ence to  the  Sierra  Leone  Gazette. 

A meeting  of  all  the  agents,  together  with  Mr.  Coker,  took  place, 
when  it  was  unanimously  agreed  to  relinquish  the  idea  of  making 
any  further  attempt  to  negotiate  for  lands  in  the  Sherbro  country  ; 
and  that  two  of  the  agents  should  cause  the  United  States  schooner 
Augusta,  w hich  was  lying  at  anchor  in  the  harbour  at  Sierra  Leone, 
to  undergo  some  slight  repairs  for  the  purpose  of  exploring  the 
coast  in  search  of  a suitable  site  for  an  American  settlement ; more- 
over, it  was  resolved  that  no  time  should  be  lost,  as  we  were  taught 
by  our  instructions  to  regard  the  acquisition  of  lands  for  a settle- 
ment, as  a matter  of  primary  importance. 

Having  a discretion  on  this  subject,  it  vvas  determined  after  ad- 
vising with  the  English  missionaries  and  agents  at  Sierra  Leone, 
that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Andrus  and  myself  should  be  deputed  to  the  ser- 
vice of  exploring  the  coast,  and  entering  into  negotiations  with  the 
native  chiefs.  At  the  same  time  it  was  arranged  that  Messrs. 
AVinn  and  Wiltberger  should  disembark  the  people  and  goods  from 
the  Nautilus,  after  a suitable  place  for  their  temporary  location 
should  be  determined  upon,  by  and  with  the  consent  of  the  colo- 
nial authorities,  who  had  politely  proft'ered  to  provide  such  place, 
as  soon  as  it  could  be  selected.  It  was  also  agreed  that  Messrs. 
Winn  and  Wiltberger,  should  attend  to  the  business  at  Sherbro — 
supply  the  wants  of  the  people  there,  or  remove  them  as  should  be 
found  most  expedient ; so  that  as  nearly  as  possible  an  equal  par- 
tition of  duties  was  made. 

A suitable  place  was  found  about  two  weeks  after  Air.  Andrus 


6 


anti  myself  had  sailed  on  our  liaz,ai-dous  excursion.  We  had  been 
tau^lit  to  expect  the  arrival  of  the  Alligator,  which  was  to  accom- 
pany us.  But  it  was  not  deemed  advisable  to  wait,  but  to  proceed 
immediately  to  execute  that  part  of  our  instructions,  which  direct- 
ed us  to  explore  the  coast ; in  this  determination  we  were  influ- 
enced by  the  following  reasons  : — 

r.  The  assistance  of  all  the  agents  was  not  necessary  to  admi- 
nister to  the  wants  of  the  people,  circumstanced  as  they  must  be 
during  their  continuance  at  Sierra  Leone  ; and  some  of  us,  unless 
employed  in  obtaining  the  lands,  must  have  remained  almost  or 
quite  unoccupied. 

2.  The  period  of  the  arrival  of  the  Alligator  on  the  coast  was  en- 
tirel}'  uncertain.  But  little  more  than  six  weeks  remained  before 
the  rains. 

The  business  of  exploring,  therefore,  must  be  commenced  imme- 
diately, or  not  completed  until  the  rainy  season  ;•  and  as  the  event 
showed,  had  we  waited  for  the  arrival  of  t^ie  Alligator,  it  could  not 
have  been  began  before  the  commencement  of  the  rains. 

3.  But  our  principal  reason  for  embarking  in  the  business  imme- 
diately, was  the  certainty  that  the  presence  of  an  armed  force 
would  hinder  rather  than  assist  our  negotiations  with  the  natives. 
In  this  opinion  we  w'ere  confirmed  by  the  unanimous  judgment  of 
all  our  English  friends  consulted  on  the  subject.  It  will  be  seen, 
by  a reference  to  dates,  that  w e had  concluded  our  contract  for  the 
lands,  and  returned  to  Sierra  Leone,  two  weeks  or  more  before  the 
arrival  of  the  Alligator. 

The  vessel  in  which  we  w ere  to  sail  not  being  ready,  and  some 
information  concerning  our  route  being  necessary,  Mr.  Apdrus  and 
myself  visited  the  Rev.  Mr.  Johnson,  a minister  of  the  Church  Mis- 
sionary Society,  at  Freetown.  We  found  him  just  recovering  from 
ill  health.  He  gave  us  a polite  invitation  to  visit  Regent’s  town, 
and  appointed  Saturday  the  17th  of  March  ; on  that  day  he  fur- 
nished us  with  horses,  and  accompanied  us  with  his  lady  and  seve- 
ral otlier  missionaries.  Mrs.  Bacon  not  being  accustomed  to  ride 
on  horseback,  was  carried  in  a palanquin,  by  some  of  the  captured 
Africans.  At  about  7 o’clock,  A.  M.  we  left  Freetown,  and  arriv- 
ed at  Gloucestertown  about  9 or  10  o’clock,  where  we  took  some 
refreshment  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  During.  Under  his  care  is  a fine 
flourishing  towm  of  captured  negroes  ; in  which  have  been  erected 
and  are  nearly  finished,  a large  stone  church,  a commodious  par- 
sonage house,  and  a school  house. 

At  about  one  o’clock,  P.  M.  we  arrived  at  Regent’s  towm.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Johnson  had  been  at  Freetown,  where  Mr.  J.  was  sick  se- 
veial  weeks  ; on  our  arrival  great  numbers  of  his  people  came  to 
shake  hands  with  him,  and  inquired  aftectionately  after  his  health; 
even  the  expression  of  every  countenance  bore  strong  testimony  of 
their  ardent  love  for  him,  and  the  joy  which  filled  their  hearts  oil 
his  recovery  from  sickness  and  safe  return  to  his  flock. 


7 


VIEW  OF  REGENT’S  TOWN. 

The  town  itself  is  laid  out  with  regularity — nineteen  streets  are  formed,  and 
are  made  plain  and  level,  with  good  roads  round  the  town — a large  stone  church 
rises  in  the  midst  of  the  habitattons — a government  house,  a parsonage  house, 
a hospital,  school  houses,  store  houses,  a bridge  of  several  arches,  some  native 
dwellings,  and  other  buildings,  all  of  stone,  are  either  finished  or  on  the  point 
of  beiiig  so.  But  the  state  of  cultivation  further  manifests  the  industry  of  the 
])eople;  all  are  farmers — gardens,  fenced  in,  are  attached  to  every  dwelling — 
all  the  land  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  is  under  cultivation,  and  pieces  of 
land  even  to  the  distance  of  three  miles — there  are  many  rice-fields;  and  among 
the  other  vegetables  raised  for  food,  are  cassadas,  plantains,  coco,  yams,  coffee, 
and  Indian  corn : of  fruits,  they  have  bananas,  oranges,  limes,  pine-apples, 
ground-nuts,  guavas,  andpapaws:  of  animals,  there  are  horses,  cows,  bullocks^ 
sheep,  goats,  pigs,  ducks,  and  fowls:  a daily  market  is  held,  for  the  sale  of  ar- 
ticles; and,  on  Saturdays,  this  market  is  large  and  general.  It  has  been  already 
said,  that  all  are  farmers;  but  many  of  them,  beside  the  cultivation  of  the 
ground,  have  learned  and  exercise  various  trades  : 50  of  them  are  masons  and 
bricklayers— 40,  carpenters — 30,  sawyers — 30,  shingle-makers — 20,  tailors — 
4,  blacksmiths — and  2,  butchers.  In  these  various  ways,  upwards  of  600  of  the 
negroes  maintain  themselves;  and  have  been  enabled,  in  this  short  space  of  time, 
by  the  fruits  of  their  own  productive  industry,  to  relieve  from  all  expense,  on 
their  personal  account,  that  government  to  which  they  pay  the  most  grateful 
allegiance. 

The  appearance  and  manners  of  the  people  have  improved  in  an  equal  de- 
gree. They  are  all  now  decently  clothed;  almost  all  the  females  have  leai-ned 
to  make  their  own  clothing — about  400  couple  are  married — they  were  accus- 
tomed to  s])cnd  their  nights  in  dancing  and  drumming,  after  the  heathenish 
fashion  of  their  countries:  not  a drum  is  now  left  in  the  town — in  six  montlis 
only  six  deaths  occurred;  while,  in  three  months,  forty-two  children  were  born 
— not  an  oath  had  been  heard  in  the  town,  to  Mr.  Johnson’s  knowledge,  for  tlie 
last  twelve  months;  nor  had  any  drunkenness  been  witnessed — the  attendance 
on  public  worship  is  regular  and  large,  three  times  on  the  Sunday ; on  an  ave- 
rage, not  less  tlran  1200  or  1300  negroes,  while  ^Tr.  Johnson’s  first  congregation 
amounted  but  to  nine  : at  morning  and  evening  daily  prayeis,  not  less  than  500 
are  present:  the  schools,  which  opened  with  90  bov*?  :<nd  .50  girls  with  35 
adults,  now  contain  upwards  of  500  scholars. 


8- 


AV’’e  had  previously  been  informefl  by  Mr.  Johnson  of  a mission- 
ary tour,  performed  by  Mr,  Cates,  an  English  missionary  from 
Sierra  Leone,  in  an  overland  journey  to  Grand  Bassa,  a distance 
of  about  400  miles,  accompanied  by  William  Tamba  and  William 
Davis,  native  missionaries. 

We  had  also  been  advised  to  select  the  Bassa  country  as  the 
most  eligible  for  the  location  of  our  settlement;  the  natives  hav- 
ing manifested  not  only  a willingness,  but  an  ardent  desire  to  re- 
ceive instructions,  and  the  king  and  head-men  having  entered  into 
a covenant  with  Mr.  Cates  to  receive  and  protect  any  missionaries 
which  should  be  sent  from  Sierra  Leone.  We  had  moreover  had 
an  interview  with  Tamba  and  Davis  on  the  subject,  and  came  to  a 
conclusion  to  explore  the  coast  to  the  southward  and  eastward. 
Mr.  Johnson  politely  proposed  that  Tamba  and  Davis  should  ac- 
company us  as  interpreters.  These  men  were  able  to  speak  all  the 
different  languages  of  the  tribes  as  far  as  the  Bassa  country. 

At  six  o’clock  on  the  evening  of  our  arrival,  the  bell  at  the 
church  rang  for  divine  service.  The  people  were  immediately 
seen  walking  from  different  parts  of  the  town;  the  parsonage  house 
being  so  situated  that  there  is  a fair  view  of  almost  the  whole  set- 
tlement, and  it  was  delightful  to  observe  the  eagerness  which  peo- 
ple manifested  to  hear  the  word  of  God.  A prayer  meeting  was 
held  by  the  communicants  after  the  usual  evening  prayers,  it  being 
expected  that  the  Lord’s  Supper  would  be  celebrated  the  next  day. 

H^^mday  Morning  the  I8th  of  March. — At  six  o’clock,  the  bell 
rang  for  morning  prayers,  when  the  church  was  again  filled.  0! 
how  pleasing  to  behord  hundreds  of  those  who  were  once  wretched 
inmates  of  the  holds  of  slave-ships,  assembled  in  the  house  of  God, 
on  the  morning  of  that  holy  day  on  which  our  blessed  Saviour  rose 
from  the  dead  and  ascended  up  to  heaven  ! With  many  copies  of 
the  Holy  Bible  spread  open  before  their  black  faces,  their  eyes 
were  fixed  intently  on  the  words  of  the  lesson  which  their  godly 
pastor  was  reading.  Almost  all  of  Mr.  Johnson’s  people  who  can 
read  the  blessed  book,  are  supplied  with  Bibles  from  that  best  of 
institutions  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society.  Surely  Chris- 
tians ought  to  feel  themselves  encouraged  in  the  support  of  mis- 
sions, when  such  cheering  fruits  present  themselves  to  view. 

At  10  o’clock  the  bell  again  rang,  though  the  church  was  nearly 
filled  before  that  hour;  the  members  of  the  well  regulated  schools 
which  passed  in  review  before  the  parsonage  in  regular  succession, 
were  all  clad  in  clean  decent  apparel.  When  we  arrived  at  the 
church  there  were  no  vacant  seats  to  be  seen.  The  greatest  atten- 
tion was  paid  during  divine  service.  “Indeed  I witnessed  a Chris- 
tian congregation  in  a heathen  land — a people  fearing  God  and 
working  righteousness.  The  tear  of  godly  sorrow  rolled  down 
many  a coloured  cheek,  and  showed  the  contrition  of  a heart  that 
felt  its  own  vileness,”  There  were  three  couple  married,  and  one 
child  baptized.  After  the  sermon,  Mr.  Johnson,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  brother  Andrus,  administered  the  communion  of  the  body 


9 


and  blood  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  nearly  four  hundred  com- 
municants. 

At  3 o’clock,  P.  M.  the  church  was  again  filled,  and  the  most  de- 
vout attention  was  paid  to  the  reading  and  hearing  of  the  word.  It 
seemed  that  the  whole  congregation  were  eager  to  catch  every 
word  which  fell  from  the  pastor’s  lips. 

Again,  before  the  ringing  of  the  bell,  at  six  o’clock  in  the  even- 
ing, the  people  were  seen  from  the  distant  parts  of  the  town,  leav- 
ing their  homes  and  retracing  their  steps  back  towards  the  house 
of  God. 

There  we  again  united  in  praising  that  God  who  hath  wrought 
such  wonderful  things  even  among  the  mountains  of  Sierra  Leone, 
where  the  praises  of  Jehovah  resound,  not  only  from  his  holy  sanc- 
tuary, but  from  the  humble  mud-walled  cottage — from  the  tongues 
of  those  children  of  Africa,  who  have  been  taken  by  the  avaricious 
slave-trader,  dragged  from  parents,  separated  from  brother  and 
sister,  and  perhaps  from  wife,  or  husband,  bound  in  chains,  hurried 
on  board  the  slave  ship,  crowded  in  a space  not  exceeding  their 
length  and  breadth,  nor  even  allowed  to  breathe  the  vital  air. 
These  persons  after  being  recaptured,  by  order  of  the  British  go- 
vernment, have  been  put  under  the  charge  of  a faithful  minister 
of  the  gospel,  whose  labours  have  been  accompanied  by  the  Holy 
Spirit.  These  are  the  mighty  works  of  God. 

Monday  morning  the  19th  of  March. — A.t  six  o’clock  prayers 
again  in  church.  After  breakfast  it  was  concluded  that  it  was  ex- 
pedient for  Mrs.  Bacon  to  remain  in  Mr.  Johnson’s  family  during 
my  absence  with  Mr.  Andrus  exploring  the  coast.  Although  pain.- 
ful  to  the  flesh,  yet  duty  required  it,  and  my  wife  readily  submit- 
ted after  uniting  with  good  Mr.  Johnson  in  commending  us  to  God 
in  solemn  prayer. 

We  left  Regent’s  town  and  arrived  at  Gloucester,  where  we 
took  some  refreshment  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  During,  and  arrived  at 
Freetown  about  10.  We  found  that  the  schooner  Augusta  was 
still  undergoing  repairs.  We  commenced  making  the  necessary 
preparations  for  our  departure.  Contracted  with  William  Martin, 
a yellow  man,  to  navigate  the  vessel,  and  John  Bean  as  mate — Mo- 
ses Turner,  three  native  sailors,  and  five  Kroomen. 

Wednesday  evening  the  9.1st  of  March, — Having  been  much  en- 
gaged in  making  preparations,  I had  not  time  to  write  to  my 
friends;  and  expecting  not  to  return  until  after  the  sailing  of  the 
brig  Nautilus,  (although  the  disembarkation  had  not  yet  com- 
menced,) a letter  was  wrote  approving  of  the  judicious  management 
of  the  Rev.  Daniel  Coker,  in  conducting  the  affairs  of  the  first  ex- 
pedition after  the  decease  of  the  former  agents,  and  recommending 
him  to  the  friendly  notice  of  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  Ameri- 
can Society  for  colonizing  the  Free  People  of  Colour.  This  letter 
was  signed  by  J.  B.  Winn,  J.  R.  Andrus,  C.  Wiltberger,  jr.  and  E. 
Bacon,  agents. 

Thursday  morning  the  99d  of  March, — The  schooner  is  expect- 


10 


ed  to  be  ready  to-day ; we  are  preparing  for  our  departure,  and 
hope  to  sail  this  evening. 

At  5 o’clock,  P.  M.  all  hands  are  on  board,  some  of  the  sailors 
intoxicated  ; the  captain  appears  to  make  unnecessary  delays.  At 
length  we  set  sail.  After  doubling  the  cape,  we  stood  out  to  sea, 
far  enough  to  clear  all  the  head  lands  and  islands  of  the  coast;  and 
then  proceeding  coastwise,  we  made  Cape  Mount,  about  250  miles 
distant  from  Sierra  Leone,  on  the  27th.  This  part  of  the  coast  w e 
had  previously  learned  to  be  in  the  occupancy  of  King  Peter,  one 
of  the  most  powerful  and  warlike  chiefs  of  West  Africa,  and  more 
deeply  engaged  in  the  slave  trade  than  any  of  his  neighbours.  The 
known  hostility  of  his  view's  to  the  objects  of  the  American  go- 
vernment and  Society,  dissuaded  us  from  incurring  any  loss  of  time 
or  expense  in  procuring  an  interview'  with  him.  We  accordingly 
proceeded  onward  to  the  mouth  of  the  Mesurado  river,  about  50 
miles  south  of  Cape  Mount,  where  w’e  came  to  anchor  the  next 
day,  before  two  small  islands,  owned  by  John  Mills,  a yellow  man, 
having  an  English  education,  and  Baha,  a black  and  native  African. 
Both  of  these  men  are  slave  dealers,  and  it  is  supposed  that  their 
islands  are  mere  slave  markets.  Every  appearance  went  to  justify 
this  suspicion.  The  neighbourhood  of  Cape  Mesurado  having  been 
indicated  as  a part  of  the  coast  favourable  to  our  purpose,  we  were 
induced  to  make  the  most  particular  inquiry  and  observations  in 
our  power,  relative  to  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  that  would 
attend  a settlement  here. 

The  appearance  of  this  part  of  tlie  left  bank  of  the  Mesurado 
river,  which  terminates  in  the  cape  of  the  same  name,  is  sufficient- 
ly elevated,  and  inviting.  The  natural  growth  is  luxuriant  and 
abundant ; many  of  the  trees  attain  to  a large  size,  and  present 
every  indication  of  a strong  and  fertile  soil. 

The  head  man  is  a dependant  of  King  Peter,  and  has  the  same 
name.  We  attempted  to  obtain  a palaver  with  him,  and  for  this 
purpose  went  on  shore  with  a present.  He  was  not  ignorant  of  the 
object  of  our  visit,  and  sent  by  a messenger  declining  an  interview 
and  refusing  to  receive  our  present,  though  we  had  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  if  we  had  been  mere  missionaries,  he  would  have  received 
us  readily.^  While  wc  w'ere  at  anchor,  a schooner  under  French 
colours  appeared,  laying  off  and  apparently  w'aiting  for  an  oppor- 
tunity to  come  in  and  receive  a cargo  of  slaves.  We  saw  a great 
number  of  young  Africans,  who  appeared  as  if  intended  for  that 
vessel. 

On  the  evening  of  the  29th,  we  got  under  way,  and  following  the 
direction  of  the  coast,  w'hich  here  stretches  south-easterly,  we  had 
the  prospect  of  a delightful  country  the  whole  distance  to  St.  John’s 
river.  The  coast  presents  a sandy  beach ; in  the  whole  of  this  ex- 
tent, the  country  is  gently  elevated  from  the  coast,  and  has  a sur- 
face agreeably  diversified  with  moderate  inequalities.  Most  of  the 

* This  cape  has  since  been  negotiated  for,  together  with  a large  tract  of  fer- 
tile counti’v,  and  the  American  colony  are  settled  on  it. 


il 


land  visible  from  the  sea  either  lias  been,  or  now  is,  in  a state  of 
cultivation.  The  soil  is  prolific  in  the  most  substantial  articles  of 
food  produced  in  tropical  countries.  The  neglected  parts  of  the 
land  are  covered  with  a thick  growth  of  brush  wood.  The  moun^ 
tains  in  the  interior  are  here  about  twenty  or  thirty  miles  from  the 
sea,  stretching  in  the  direction  of  the  coast,  and  come  more  dis- 
tinctly into  view,  than  at  the  northward  of  the  Cape.  Their  ele- 
vation must  be  considerable.  On  the  evening  of  the  51st  we  were 
becalmed,  and  obliged  to  anchor  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  St. 
John’s  river,  at  the  distance  of  between  two  and  three  leagues. 
This  river  is  nearly  a league  over  at  the  mouth.  About  six  leagues 
from  the  sea,  it  is  one  mile  wide,  and  has  in  no  part  of  the  main 
channel,  less  than  nine  feet  water.  Salt  water  extends  but  six  or 
eight  miles  from  the  sea ; there  is  a rapid  at  six  leagues  distance 
from  the  mouth  of  the  river,  which  is  however  passable  with  canoes. 
Above,  the  batteau  navigation  extends  to  a great  distance  in  the 
interior.  Five  miles  to  the  eastward  of  the  mouth  of  St.  John’s, 
and  discharging  its  waters  into  the  same  bay,  is  the  Grand  Bassa 
river,  small  in  comparison  with  the  St.  John’s,  and  very  shoal  at 
the  bar — but  of  considerable  length  and  navigable  for  light  batteaux 
a number  of  leagues. 

On  the  1st  of  April,  we  brought  the  schooner  to  anchor  off  the 
mouth  of  the  latter  river,  at  the  distance  of  three-fourths  of  a mile. 
We  were  soon  surrounded  with  canoes,  which  brought  on  board  a 
large  number  of  natives.  By  one  of  them  we  despatched  a small 
present  to  the  king.  This  prince’s  name  is  Jack  Ben,  lately  ad- 
vanced to  the  supreme  power,  from  the  rank  of  principal  head-man, 
in  consequence  of  the  death  of  King  John,  which  occurred  about 
four  months  before  our  visit. 

Monday  morning,  2d,  Grand  Bassa. — We  were  visited  by 

ten  or  fifteen  native  canoes,  bringing  from  twm  to  five  men  each, 
who  came  to  trade ; their  articles  were  fowls,  fish,  oysters,  eggs, 
palm  oil  and  palm  wine,  cassada,  yams,  plantains,  bananas,  limes 
and  pine  apples,  for  which  they  wanted  in  return  tobacco,  pipes, 
beads,  &c. 

Fowls  are  sold  for  one  leaf  of  tobacco  or  one  pipe  each  ; oysters 
are  very  large  and  fine;  half  a pound  of  tobacco  will  buy  one  hun- 
dred ; they  are  larger  than  the  Bluepoint  oysters. 

Mr.  Andrus  and  myself  went  on  shore  in  our  boat,  below  the 
mouth  of  Grand  Bassa,  to  take  a view  of  the  point  of  land  which 
projects  out  into  the  sea.  A fort,  erected  on  this  point,  would  com- 
pletely command  the  w'hole  harbour.  After  visiting  the  point,  it 
was  necessary  to  cross  the  Grand  Bassa  a short  distance  above  its 
mouth,  as  the  surf  was  turbulent  below  the  bar.  Our  conductor 
was  a Krooman,  by  the  name  of  Bottle  Beer.  When  we  came  to 
the  left  bank  of  the  river,  we  saw  no  canoe  or  other  means  of  cross- 
ing over  as  we  thought;  but  Bottle  Beer  proposed  to  carry  us  over, 
and  placed  himself  in  a suitable  position,  and  told  one  of  us  to  sit 
upon  his  shoulders,  when  Brother  Andrus  seated  himself  with 
one  leg  over  each  shoulder  ; then  Bottle  Beer  walked  deliberately 


through  the  river,  carrying  his  burden  safe  to  the  other  bank,  and 
returned  back  and  proposed  to  take  me,  I told  him  I was  so  fat 
and  heavy  that  he  would  let  me  fall  into  the  water ; he  put  his 
hands  upon  his  arms  and  legs,  and  said,  “ Me  strong,  me  carry  you, 
Daddy.”  At  length  I seated  myself  likewise  upon  Bottle  Beer, 
and  though  he  was  not  as  heavy  a person  as  myself,  he  carried  me 
safe  over  without  wetting  me  ; it  was  necessary,  however,  that  I 
should  hold  my  feet  up,  as  the  water  was  about  half  a fathom  deep. 
After  this  we  walked  about  300  yards,  to  Bottle  Beer’s  town,  a 
little  cluster  of  cottages  inhabited  by  Kroomen,  of  which  B.  B.  is 
head-man ; several  of  these  people  can  talk  broken  English ; the 
King  placed  B.  B.  at  this  town  as  a factor  or  a harbour  master,  as 
it  is  a place  for  vessels  to  water.  The  population  is  perhaps  from 
60  to  100 ; we  were  conducted  to  the  palaver-house,  where  the 
people  soon  gathered  together,  and  shook  hands  with  us.  After  re- 
maining a short  time,  we  were  conducted  to  another  town  (so  call- 
ed) where  the  people  were  boiling  sea-water  for  salt,  as  they  do  at 
all  the  towns  near  the  beach  ; this  is  called  Salt-town  ; through 
this  we  passed  to  Jumbotown,  which  is  about  one  mile  from  Bottle 
Beer’s  town,  and  much  larger. 

In  Jumbotown  there  are  from  30  to  40  houses,  and  several  hun- 
dred people.  There  is  also  a large  palaver-house,  to  which  we  were 
conducted.  There  we  were  accosted  by  Jumbo,  the  head-man,  and 
the  natives,  and  shook  hands  with  them.  The  land  is  prolific  be- 
yond description.  Indian  corn  grows  luxuriantly  and  is  in  the  ear. 
Indeed  the  country  is  beautifully  variegated,  and  the  water  is  good 
and  plenty. 

About  1 o’clock,  P.  M.  we  returned  back  to  our  boat,  which  was 
at  B.  B.’s  town.  After  the  boat  was  in  readines,  one  of  the  Kroo- 
inen  took  me  in  his  arms  and  carried  me  above  the  surf  to  the  boat, 
and  likewise  Mr.  Andrus,  so  that  we  were  not  wet ; and  all  this 
kindness  without  being  solicited.  Indeed  they  are  very  kind  and 
hospitable  ; they  gave  us  water  to  drink,  and  palm  wine,  and  made 
us  welcome  to  such  as  they  had.  As  is  customary,  they  begged  for 
tobacco,  of  which  we  gave  a small  quantity  to  the  head-men,  who 
always  distribute  among  the  people. 

After  returning  on  board  the  schooner,  we  dined  on  fish  and  oys- 
ters sumptuously.  We  then  went  in  our  boat  over  the  bar,  into 
the  mouth  of  the  St.  John’s  river,  about  four  miles  distance  from 
the  schooner,  when  we  sounded  on  the  bar,  and  found  not  less  than 
nine  feet  water  at  ebb-tide.  The  river  is  about  three  miles  wide 
at  the  bar:  there  is  plenty  of  water  and  good  anchorage  : vessels 
of  two  or  three  hundred  tons  burden,  may  lie  perfectly  safe.  It 
being  nearly  dark,  and  the  tide  beginning  to  make,  which  was 
against  our  returning  in  the  boat,  over  the  bar,  it  was  thought  most 
prudent  for  Mr.  Andrus  and  myself  to  go  on  shore  and  return  by 
land  to  Jumbotown,  which  we  did  accordingly.  There  was  no  path 
on  the  shore  but  the  sand  beach,  which  was  fatiguing,  as  the  sand 
was  so  loose  that  a great  part  of  the  way  our  shoes  would  sink  two 
or  three  inches  every  step.  Moreover,  being  exposed  to  the  night 


13 


air,  is  thought  in  Africa  to  be  dangerous  to  foreigners;  however, 
we  arrived  at  Jumbotown  about  8 o’clock,  and  waited  for  our  boat, 
which  soon  came.  The  natives  again  carried  us  through  the  surf, 
and  we  returned  on  board  much  fatigued,  having  been  in  a profuse 
perspiration  and  exposed  to  night  air,  until  9 o’clock.  I was  very 
weary.  After  having  taken  some  refreshments,  we  had  prayers  and 
retired  to  rest.  Heard  nothing  from  the  king,  the  Kroomaii  not 
having  returned. 

Tuesday,  ^dpril  Sd. — This  morning  brother  Andrus  w'as  not  in 
very  good  health,  and  did  not  go  on  shore,  but  took  medicine.  We 
were  again  visited  by  natives,  with  a great  variety  of  fruit,  vegeta- 
bles, fowls,  fish,  &c.  &c. 

W’e  this  day  sent  another  message  to  the  king.  At  10  o’clock 
I went  on  shore,  in  company  with  Tamba  and  Davis,  and  walked 
about  one  mile  into  the  country,  where  I found  the  land  remark- 
ably good.  We  passed  through  four  or  five  towms,  as  they  called 
them  ; the  houses  as  in  other  towns  appear  at  a distant  view  more 
like  the  same  number  of  stacks  of  straws  or  hay,  as  they  are  covered 
with  a kind  of  grass.  Davis  and  Tamba  improve  every  opportunity 
to  talk  with  their  country  people  upon  the  subject  of  our  mission. 
Davis  saw  some  of  the  head-men  to-day,  who  appear  to  be  suspi- 
cious that  we  had  some  unfriendly  object  in  view;  but  as  he  can 
speak  their  language  fluently,  he  is  endeavouring  to  remove  their 
doubts. 

Returned  on  board  with  not  only  my  locks  but  my  flannels 
drenched  with  perspiration;  even  while  1 am  writing,  if  my  hand- 
kerchief were  not  in  my  hand  to  wipe  it  from  my  face,  1 should 
be  compelled  to  discontinue.  No  prospect  as  yet  of  seeing  the 
king. 

This  evening  brother  Andrus’s  health  is  better.  We  commend- 
ed ourselves  and  the  cause  in  which  we  are  engaged  to  God,  who 
alone  can  accomplish  all  things,  according  to  his  purpose,  and  re- 
tired to  rest. 

Wednesday  Morning,  April  4th. — At  six  o’clock,  according  to 
our  arrangements  made  yesterday,  we  started  in  our  boat,  with 
four  boatmen  and  our  interpreters,  making  eight  of  us ; and  five 
natives,  two  of  which  were  head-men,  in  two  of  their  canoes.  We 
ascended  the  river  St.  John  to  the  first  island.  The  banks  of  the 
river  are  rather  low,  but  suitable  for  cultivation.  This  island  was 
formerly  occupied  by  a slave  factor;  but  since  the  English  and 
American  cruisers  have  annoyed  them,  the  traders  have  abandon- 
ed this  and  all  the  other  islands.  In  this  river  their  gardens  are 
to  be  seen ; in  them  is  a variety  of  fruit.  We  breakfasted  here 
upon  some  smoked  beef  and  bread,  which  we  brought  from  the  ves- 
sel. Thence  we  proceeded  on  to  another  island,  to  which  Davis 
said  he  was  brought,  and  on  which  he  was  sold  to  an  American 
slave  factor. 

It  was  with  great  difficulty  that  we  prevailed  on  the  natives  and 
our  boat’s  crew  to  proceed  any  further,  because  they  said,  “ White 
man  never  live  above  that  place.”  It  appeared  that  they  doubted 


14 


the  eflicacj  of  their  gregres,  which  they  never  fail  to  wear  when 
exposed  to  danger.  We  passed  two  other  islands,  formerly  oc- 
cupied bj  the  same  kind  of  desperadoes.  We  still  proceeded  on- 
ward until  we  came  to  rapids,  which  are  from  15  to  20  miles  from 
its  mouth.  The  land  as  we  ascend  the  river  becomes  more  ele- 
vated, with  a fine  growth  of  timber,  admirably  situated  for  settle- 
ments. We  saw  several  small  towns  and  farms,  where  rice  and 
vegetables  are  cultivated.  Davis  read  the  20th  chapter  of  Exodus, 
and  spoke  to  the  people  upon  the  state  of  their  souls.  In  one  of 
those  towns,  people  were  yerj  attentive ; their  reply  to  him  after 
he  had  ceased  speaking  was,  “ Very  icelly  we  hear  you,  all  very 
good  what  you  say,  we  tliink  ’bout  it,  we  no  sabby  white  man  fash, 
ice  sabby  gregre.” 

We  saw  very  fine  goats,  and  sheep,  and  poultry.  All  the  peo- 
ple wear  gregres  or  charms;  some  of  these  are  brass  rings,  which 
they  wear  around  their  ancles  and  wrists — one  is  a feather  tied 
with  a string  around  their  neck — and  what  they  consider  more 
valuable,  is  the  horn  of  a goat  or  a sheep,  which  the  Dibbleman  (as 
they  say)  prepares  by  filling  it  with  a kind  of  giutinous'substance, 
intermixed  with  pulverized  charcoal,  or  black  sand  ; some  w'ear  a 
little  ball  of  clay  tied  up  in  a piece  of  white  muslin. 

At  3 o’clock  we  put  our  company  in  motion  on  our  return.  At 
7 o’clock,  the  boat  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  before 
crossing  the  bar,  brother  A.,  myself,  Tamba  and  Davis,  went  on 
shore,  where  we  had  a most  fatiguing  walk  down  the  beach  to 
Jumbotow  n ; our  boat  not  being  able  to  go  over  the  bar  before  day- 
light, as  the  tide  did  not  favour;  therefore  we  had  no  boat  in  which 
we  dare  venture,  as  the  native  canoes  were  small  and  unsafe  for 
us.  Having  been  twelve  hours  exposed  to  the  scorching  rays  of 
the  sun,  and  having  walked  four  miles  in  the  damp  of  the  evening, 
with  our  clothes  drenched  in  perspiration,  and  being  obliged  to  lay 
down  supperless  upon  a floor  composod  of  bamboo  sticks,  without 
any  covering  but  our  wet  garments — having  no  door  to  our  cot- 
tage, and  several  hundred  natives  within  twenty  yards,  drumming 
and  dancing,  until  one  or  two  o’clock  in  the  morning. — Indeed 
these  w^ere  times  that  the  secret  ejaculations  of  the  heart  ascend- 
ed up  to  the  throne  of  the  Heavenly  Grace,  for  grace  to  help  in 
that  hour  of  need.  Nor  w as  the  ear  of  Jehovah  heavy,  that  it  could 
not  hear;  nor  his  almighty  arm  shortened,  that  it  could  not  save; 
for  w^e  found  ready  help  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  strength- 
ening us. 

Thursday  morning,  April  5th. — We  arose  and  felt  somewhat 
the  worse  for  our  hard  lodging,  after  our  extreme  exposure  in  that 
climate,  in  which,  it  is  said,  foreigners  are  subject  to  fevers  and 
agues ; our  boat  came  to  the  beach  for  us,  and  we  went  on  board  the 
schooner.  Having  heard  nothing  from  the  king,  we  concluded  to 
send  Davis  with  one  of  the  head-men,  to  seek  his  majesty.  Davis 
was  despatched  with  a present.  We  this  day  learned  from  a head- 
man, that  we  could  have  land,  but  that  we  must  go  to  the  king’s 
town  to-morrow. 


15 


We  admired  the  friendly  disposition  of  the  inhabitants,  but  dis- 
covered their  fears,  that  we  were  connected  with  some  ship  of  war. 

FHday  morning,  Jipril  6th, — We  went  on  shore,  and  went  to 
the  king’s  town,  but  could  not  see  him  ; it  was  said  that  he  was  not 
at  home.  The  distance  is  from  two  and  a half  to  three  miles;  the 
land  is  most  excellent,  elevated  and  dry;  we  saw  very  fine  rice 
fields:  this  town  was  recently  built,  the  houses  are  much  better 
than  any  I have  hitherto  seen  in  the  Bassa  country. 

We  returned  back  to  the  schooner,  without  seeing  Davis,  and 
sent  Tamba  to  call  him,  but  he  remained.  We  are  full  of  doubts 
and  fears  about  obtaining  a palaver  with  the  king. 

Saturday,  Jipril  7tlu — This  day  Tamba  and  Davis  returned  ; it 
appears  they  have  been  labouring  to  convince  the  head-men,  that 
we  have  not  come  with  any  hostile  intention. 

Sunday,  Jlpril  Sth. — Brother  A , and  Davis,  went  to  old  King 

John’s  town,  for  the  purpose  of  holding  a meeting.  Returned  in 
the  evening,  and  said  that  they  had  seen  King  Ben,  and  that  he 
would  meet  us  in  Jumbotown,  in  palaver,  the  next  morning. 

They  saw  the  body  of  King  John,  who  had  been  dead  four  moons, 
yet  not  buried ; he  was  laid  in  state  in  a palaver-house,  dressed  iii 
a fine  robe,  with  a pair  of  new  English  boots  on  the  feet:  a brisk 
fire  is  kept  burning  in  the  room.  His  grave  is  dug,  which  is  eight 
feet  square,  for  the  purpose  of  admitting  the  body  and  the  form 
upon  which  it  lies,  together  with  bullocks,  goats,  sheep,  tobacco 
and  pipes,  as  sacrifices ! O Lord,  when  shall  these  superstitions 
cease. 

Monday,  Jlpril  9th. — This  morning  the  sea  very  rough.  At  11 
o’clock,  we  went  on  shore,  with  a present  to  the  king,  (as  it  is  im- 
possible to  get  a palaver  with  the  authorities  of  the  country,  with- 
out a respectable  present  “ to  pay  service”  to  the  king,  his  princes 
and  head-men,)  we  met  his  majesty.  King  Jack  Ben  of  Grand 
Bassa,  together  wdth  several  of  his  head-men  in  Jumbotown,  in  the 
palaver-house,  with  a large  concourse  of  people.  After  shaking 
hands  with  them,  we  laid  down  our  presents,  which  consisted  of 
one  gun,  some  powder,  tobacco,  pipes,  beads,  &c.  His  majesty 
said  in  broken  English,  “ me  tanke  you,”  and  caused  the  articles 
to  be  removed,  and  placed  under  the  care  of  a sentinel,  so  that  his 
people  might  not  get  them  before  he  had  divided  them  equally,  as 
is  their  custom.  This  division  takes  place,  that  all  may  “ taste  of 
the  good  things,”  and  a contract  is  made:  all  W'ho  have  partaken 
of  the  present,  are  pledged  to  fulfil  on  their  part. 

The  king  asked  us  what  we  wanted,  although  he  could  not  have 
been  ignorant  of  our  wishes.  We  stated  our  object  to  be,  “ to  get 
land  for  the  black  people  in  .America,  to  came  and  sit  down  upon 
[to  occupy'].  We  told  him  that  the  people  were  very  many,  and  re- 
quired-much territory;  that  a few  white  men  only  would  come 
along,  to  assist  and  take  care  of  them;  that  we  should  make  a town 
where  ships  ivoiild  come  and  trade  with  cloth,  and  guns,  and  heads, 
and  knives,  and  tobacco,  and  pipes;  and  take  in  return,  their  iiory, 
and  palm  oil,  and  rice,  and  every  other  thing  growing  in  the  fields: 


l(i 


that  they  would  not  then  need  to  sell  any  more  people,  but  might 
learn  to  cultivate  the  ground,  and  make  other  things  to  sell  for 
ivhatevev  they  wanted^ 

We  at  last  succeeded  in  making  a favourable  impression  on 
their  minds;  and  convincing  them  that  we  had  no  unfriendly  mo- 
tive in  visiting  Bassa.  The  palaver  was  adjourned  until  the  next 
day.  It  indeed  requires  much  patience  to  deal  with  these  chil- 
dren of  the  forest.  We  returned  on  board  weary  and  faint:  after 
partaking  of  some  refreshment,  and  having  implored  the  divine 
blessing  of  Him  who  has  promised  to  give  to  his  Son  the  heathen 
for  his  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  his 
possession,  retired  to  rest. 

Tuesday,  Jipril  10th. — This  day  is  expected  to  be  a day  of  im- 
portance, as  the  palaver  will  be  much  larger,  and  a certain  con- 
dition will  be  discussed,  winch  they  have  urged  from  the  begin- 
ning; therefore,  we  look  earnestly  for  Divine  assistance.  A small 
present  will  be  necessary  as  there  will  be  more  head-men  than  at 
any  former  palaver.  At  10  o'clock  we  were  convened.  The  pre- 
sent was  placed  before  the  king,  and  the  usual  ceremonies  were 
performed.  The  king  rose  up  and  spoke  to  the  case  in  the  Bassa 
language,  with  great  energy;  his  naked  arm  presented  to  view 
from  within  his  robes,  which  were  made  of  the  country  manufac- 
tured cloth,  something  in  the  form  of  clerical  robes.  After  him,  a 
Krooman  by  the  name  of  Brown,  rose  and  spoke  with  much  spirit; 
his  speech  was  interpreted  by  Tarnba;  the  substance  of  it  was, 
that  we  were  emissaries  from  some  slave-ship  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, and  that  vve  were  not  friends  to  them ; on  which  the  king 
and  his  council  withdrew  to  the  shade  of  a large  silk  cotton  tree, 
in  conclave,  for  the  space  of  twenty  or  thirty  minutes.  They 
then  returned  and  proceeded  in  discussing  the  condition,  strenu- 
ously urged  from  the  beginning  by  the  king,  as  the  basis  on  which 
alone  he  could  accede  to  our  wishes  in  relation  to  the  lands.  We 
had  stated,  that  we  came  not  with  any  hostile  intentions,  and  that 
the  character  of  the  settlement  was  to  be  unwarlike  and  agricul- 
tural. They  demanded  of  us  a positive  stipulation,  to  make  book, 
as  they  term  it,  that  the  settlers  and  agents  should  act  in  consis- 
tency with  this  character,  and  in  no  way  assist  the  armed  ships 
sent  to  the  coast  to  suppress  the  slave  trade,  by  communicating  to 
them  any  information  that  might  prove  injurious  to  the  Bassa  peo- 
ple. We  represented  to  them  the  advantages  which  would  attend 
their  relinquishing  the  trade  altogether;  stating  that  in  a very 
short  time  it  must  cease,  as  so  many  ships  of  war  would  be  sent  to 
the  coast,  as  to  catch  every  slave  vessel,  and  put  an  end  to  the  ex- 
portation of  the  people;  still  they  insisted  on  the  condition;  and 
at  the  breaking  up  of  the  palaver,  told  us  we  should  have  the 
lands,  provided  we  agreed  to  insert  the  condition  in  the  contract 
[[book].  They  directed  us  to  explore  the  country,  and  (as  the  king 
said,  “ lookem  straight,”  laying  down  his  palaver  brush  in  a straight 
position,)  fix  upon  the  tract  best  adapted  to  our  purpose,  at  the 
same  time  indicating  the  quarter  where  those  lands  lay,  which 


17 


they  could  best  afford  to  spare.  We  returned  on  board  the  schooner 
somewhat  encouraged,  but  still  we  felt  dissatisfied  with  the  condi- 
tion upon  which  they  insisted;  however,  considering  that  it  could 
have  no  practical  operation,  inasmuch  as  if,  while  in  our  infant 
state,  we  were  to  show  a disposition  to  use  any  other  means  than 
persuasion  in  urging  them  to  abandon  the  traffic  in  slaves,  we 
should  incur  their  displeasure,  and  cause  the  destruction  of  the 
wffiole  of  our  expectations  of  future  success,  we  were  tolerably 
content. 

Wednesday,  April  11th, — This  day  w ent  on  shore,  w'hen  it  began 
to  rain.  There  has  been  a little  rain  every  day  for  six  or  seven 
days  past.  It  appears  that  the  rains  are  setting  in.  The  king 
sent  a servant  to  us,  with  a message,  informing  us  that  he  w'ould 
be  ready  to  receive  us  after  the  rains  had  ceased.  We  arrived  at 
the  king’s  towm.  We  had  a short  palaver,  after  ascertaining  that 
w-e  could  not  obtain  land  upon  any  better  terms.  It  is,  how'ever, 
probable,  that  at  no  distant  period  the  natives  may  be  induced  to 
abandon  the  slave  trade  altogether,  without  any  coercive  measures 
being  used,  as  they  w ill  see  other  sources  of  trade  present  them- 
selves to  view. 

The  king  directed  some  of  his  head-men  to  accompany  us,  to 
look  at  the  country.  We  walked  in  various  directions,  and  re- 
turned to  the  schooner,  having  previously  explored  the  St.  John’s 
river  as  far  as  the  rapids,  and  viewed  the  country  in  various  direc- 
tions. We  fully  determined  upon  the  territory  which  would  be 
suitable  for  our  purpose.  We  are  more  and  more  pleased  with  the 
appearance  of  the  country  and  its  inhabitants.  The  king  took 
one  of  his  boys  by  the  hand,  who  was  about  13  or  14  years  of  age, 
and  gave  him  to  us  to  learn  Book.  We  took  him  on  board,  and 
put  a pair  of  domestic  pantaloons  upon  him,  which  pleased  him 
very  much. 

Thursday,  April  12th. — This  morning  the  king  sent  two  of  his 
head-men  on  board  to  go  with  us  and  fix  upon  a place  to  build  our 
town.  We  sent  back  a message  that  we  had  fixed  upon  the  place, 
and  that  we  were  ready  to  meet  him  in  palaver,  at  any  time  he 
should  appoint,  at  Jumbotown.  He  did  not  send  us  his  answer 
until  evening,  when  two  of  his  head-men  arrived  with  a present 
from  his  sable  majesty,  which  consisted  of  a fine  fat  goat.  His 
answer  was  that  he  would  meet  us  at  8 o’clock  the  next  morning 
at  Jumbotown,  in  grand  palaver.  We  are  very  anxious  to  know 
the  final  result. 

Friday,  April  ISf/i. — We  met  in  palaver;  there  were  more  head- 
men and  princes,  as  well  as  people,  than  at  any  time  previous.  Our 
present,  of  course,  was  much  more  valuable  than  before.  We  thank- 
ed the  king  for  his  present,  and  he  returned  the  same  civility  for 
our  presents.  These  people  being  ignorant  of  extent  of  territory, 
or  of  distances  by  measurement,  we  directed  our  interpreters  to 
tell  them  that  we  wanted  a large  tract  of  land,  and  they  described 
it  thus  : — Beginning  at  a certain  tree  on  the  beach  near  .Jumbotown, 

V 


18 


running  due  east  by  compass  to  the  top  of  Saddle  Mountain,  or 
two  or  three  days’  walk,  either  of  which  would  be  a distance  of  from 
40  to  60  miles;  from  thence  northwardly  to  St.  John’s  river,  a dis- 
tance of  perhaps  from  50  to  70  miles;  from  thence  down  the  St. 
John’s  river  to  its  mouth ; from  thence  along  the  sand  beach  to  the 
aforesaid  tree  near  Jumbotown,  inclusive:  supposed  to  be  30  or  40 
miles  square  of  territory.  To  our  having  this  tract,  they  readily 
agreed,  and  directed  their  names  to  be  set  to  the  instrument,  the 
conditions  before  mentioned  being  included.  They  all  took  hold 
of  the  pen  and  made  their  marks ; they  then  cried  aloud,  “ Palaver 
set!  Palaver  set!” 

The  agent  of  the  Colonization  Society,  engaged  in  behalf  of  said 
Society,  to  give  certain  stipulated  articles  annually,  which  will  not 
cost  more  than  300  dollars.  Pledges  of  mutual  friendship  were 
interchanged,  whereby  each  party  agreed  to  cultivate  peace  and 
harmony,  and  not  to  make  war  or  trouble  each  other. 

Thus  we  at  last  succeeded  in  convincing  them  that  we  were 
their  friends.  This,  we  were  assured,  we  could  not  have  done,  had 
it  not  been  for  the  presence  of  Davis,  and  the  entire  absence  of 
any  display  of  military  or  naval  force.  We  regard  it  as  a most 
favourable  providence  that  the  Alligator  did  not  bring  or  accom- 
pany us  to  the  Bassa,  and  that  no  naval  officer  was  present  at  the 
negotiations. 

The  king  was  much  pleased  at  seeing  his  son  with  trowsers  on; 
the  people  said,  “ He  gentleman  all  one  white  man:”  the  king  pro- 
posed to  give  us  an  elder  son  in  lieu  of  the  other,  as  he  said  if  the 
younger  went  away,  his  “Mama  make  palaver  on  me.”  We  ac- 
cepted his  proposition,  took  the  elder  on  board,  put  a suit  of  clothes 
on  him,  and  gave  him  the  name  of  Bushrod  Washington.  His 
father  was  very  much  delighted  to  see  him  clothed.  The  king, 
princes,  head-men,  and  people,  went  with  us  to  the  tree  on  the 
beach  near  Jumbotown,  one  of  the  aforesaid  boundaries,  and  a boy 
climbed  up  it,  and  cut  off  some  of  its  branches,  leaving  one  branch, 
which  ascended  considerably  higher  than  the  rest:  to  this  he  tied 
about  six  yards  of  an  American  pendant,  which  the  people  consider 
a white  man’s  gregre  or  fetish,  and  according  to  their  prejudice, 
regard  as  sacred.  Near  this  spot  it  was  thought  proper  to  make 
our  settlement.  The  king’s  son  will  go  with  us  to  Sierra  Leone, 
where  he  will  be  put  to  school  and  taught  to  speak  English.  The 
king  and  people  are  all  anxious  that  we  should  return  immediate- 
ly, even  before  the  rains  fully  set  in;  but  we  do  not  give  them  any 
encouragement  of  our  speedy  return. 

These  people  are  very  kind,  but  are  in  a dreadful  state  of  hea- 
thenish darkness;  they  worship  the  “Dibbly  man”  and  dedicate 
daily  a part  of  their  food  to  his  satanic  majesty.  They  profess  to 
believe  that  there  is  a good  and  merciful  Deity,  who  can  and  will 
do  them  good,  and  not  evil:  but  that  the  devil  is  all  powerful,  and 
that  it  is  necessary  to  appease  his  wrath.  Every  town  has  its  pe- 
culiar devil. 


19 


The  man  who  acts  the  part  of  devil  is  dressed  up  in  the  manner 
shown  in  the  engraving.  A garment  of  dried  grass  or  rushes  covers 
him,  and  reaches  to  the  ground  ; his  arms^and  feet  are  concealed  ; 
a white  country-cloth  covers  his  shoulders;  round  his  head,  and 
tied  under  his  chin,  are  two  or  three  cotton  handkerclnefs ; the- 
face  is  frightful;  the  mouth  and  nose  are  black;  two  large  teeth 
project  far  beyond  the  lips;  a row  of  coarse  shells  is  bound  round 
above  the  eyes;  on  the  head  is  a red  cap,  which  reaches  four  or  five 
feet  in  height,  and  is  surmounted  with  a plume  of  feathers. 

Sometimes  this  figure  would  move  about  in  a stately  style;  and 
at  others  it  would  turn  into  all  sorts  of  postures,  and  strike  the 
plume  of  feathers  on  the  ground,  uttering  a noise  like  tliat  occa- 
sioned by  blowing  through  a pipe,  the  mouth  of  which  is  immersed 
in  water. 

Every  inducement  was  offered  to  the  king  to  obtain  possession 
of  the  habiliments  of  this  terrific  figure,  that  we  might  carry  them 
out  of  the  country;  but  could  not  prevail.  The  king  said  that  the 
devil  belonged  to  the  people,  and  that  they  would  kill  him  if  he 
let  it  go.  We  trust  that  the  light  of  the  gospel  will,  ere  long,  ex- 
pose to  shame  these  delusions  of  cunning  and  superstition. 

The  people,  like  all  other  natives,  are  in  a state  of  nudity,  ex- 
cept that  they  wear  about  one  and  a half  yards  of  narrow  cloth 
about  their  loins;  the  men  often  wear  hats,  while  the  children  are 
not  burdened  with  any  kind  of  clothes,  but  frequently,  like  the 
adults,  wear  many  beads.  Leopard’s  teeth  are  thought  to  be  very 
valuable  ornaments. 

The  king,  when  in  general  palaver,  was  clad  in  his  robes,  which 
covered  his  whole  body;  he  had  on,  also,  an  elegant  cap;  at  other 
times  he  wore  a drab -coloured  broad -cloth  great  coat,  with  a num- 
ber of  capes.  His  head-men  were  partially  clad,  some  with  blue 
cloth  roundabouts,  with  military  or  naval  buttons.  They  wore  no 
shirts.  Many  of  them  had  belts  of  beads,  which  contained  one  or 
more  pounds  each. 


20 


There  are  many  Kroomen  in  the  towns  along  the  coast.  They 
are  employed  as  agents  or  factors  for  the  authorities  of  the  coun- 
try, who  monopolize  all  the  trade.  These  agents  have  each  a num- 
ber of  certificates  from  masters  of  vessels  who  have  employed  them. 
They  wished  us  to  give  them  books,  likewise,  but  we  had  no  occa- 
sion to  employ  them  as  factors.  Bottle  Beer  required  us  to  pay 
for  the  water  with  which  our  vessel  had  been  furnished.  With 
this  demand,  we  did  not  comply,  as  we  had  not  come  “for  trade.” 
We  informed  the  king  of  the  demand,  and  he  revoked  it.  The 
people  all  live  in  villages  or  clusters  of  cottages,  in  each  of  which 
is  a head-man,  who  has  a plurality  of  wives.  If  a native  have  but 
one  wife,  he  is  indeed  very  poor.  The  head-man  is  a slaveholder, 
he  owns  all  the  people  in  his  town.  The  inhabitants  of  each  town 
cultivate  in  common.  The  men  seldom  do  any  labour,  except  fish 
a little,  and  hunt.  The  females  and  small  boys  cultivate  the  land. 
The  men  trade  and  direct  those  who  are  under  them.  I saw  a fine 
looking  female  with  iron  fetters  on  her  feet,  which  fetters,  no  doubt, 
were  brought  from  a slave  vessel,  as  we  observed  one  under  French 
colours,  lying  in  the  harbour  at  the  same  time.  I made  inquiry 
concerning  the  cause  of  her  confinement,  and  was  told  that  she 
was  taken  in  adultery.  It  is  said  by  the  natives  that  “ Wife  Pa- 
laver, very  bad  palaver.”  It  is  punished  with  death,  red  water,  or 
slavery,  and  most  usually  the  latter.  These  people  are  indeed  in 
gross  darkness,  depending  upon  their  gregres  and  devil  worship. 
A town  is  not  complete  whicli  has  not  a Palaver  House,  and  Devil 
House.  The  latter  has  a small  post  standing  near  it,  six  or  eight 
feet  high,  with  a strip  of  >vhite  muslin  about  three-fourths  of  a yard 
in  length,  and  two  or  three  inches  wide,  tied  round  the  top.  There 
they  daily  offer  sacrifice. 

The  Bassa  country  is  situated  between  five  and  six  degrees  north 
latitude,  and  between  ten  and  eleven  west  longitude,  in  the  centre 
of  the  Grain  Coast,  which  is  about  an  equal  distance  from  Sierra 
Leone  and  Cape  Coast,  where  the  English  have  commenced  a set- 
tlement. Swine,  herds  of  neat  cattle,  sheep  and  goats  are  bred 
here. 

At  evening  we  took  an  affectionate  leave  of  the  king  and  some 
of  the  head-men  ; the  old  king  appeared  to  be  much  affected,  and 
said,  “You  have  my  son,  you  take  him  Sierra  Leone  learn  book, 
when  rain  done  you  come  Grand  Bassa,  then  king  Jack  Ben  give 
you  plenty  boys  learn  book.”  The  people  are  all  apparently  very 
anxious  to  have  us  return  ; they  seem  to  have  great  confidence 
in  us. 

Grand  Bassa,  Saturday  morning,  Jipril  14//2. — Many  natives 
were  on  board  with  fruit,  rice,  fowls,  eggs,  and  vegetables  to  sell, 
which  we  bought,  chiefly  with  tobacco. 

At  twelve  o’clock  we  set  sail  on  ©ur  return  to  Sierra  Leone.  M e 
made  slow  headway  ; the  wind  is  light.  At  six  o’clock  we  are  not 
more  than  three  or  four  leagues  from  Bassa. 

We  are  turning  our  attention  to  the  state  of  our  settlers  at  Sher- 


21 


bro,  and  those  at  Sierra  Leone.  We  think  of  visiting  Sherbro  as 
we  return.  We  are  very  anxious  to  hear  from  our  friends. 

We  feel  grateful  to  God  for  his  mercy,  in  preserving  us,  and 
enabling  us  to  accomplish  our  wishes  in  some  degree.  Still,  how- 
ever, we  have  continuDl  need  of  Divine  assistance.  Our  vessel 
leaks  and  requires  much  attention  ; but  our  trust  is  in  God  alone, 
who  has  hitherto  mercifully  preserved  us,  so  that  “ the  sun  hath  not 
smitten  us  by  day,  neither  the  moon  by  night.”  The  pestilence 
W'hich  walketh  in  darkness  hath  not  come  near  us ; therefore,  we 
are  under  renewed  obligations  to  praise  the  Lord  for  his  goodness, 
and  for  the  wonderful  works  in  the  great  deep. 

Sunday  morning,  April  \5th. — At  sea  with  a fair  wind ; we  have 
just  discovered  Cape  Mesurado.  Had  worship  this  morning  as 
usual,  and  found  it  good  for  us  to  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
to  read  his  most  holy  word,  to  meditate  upon  his  blessed  promises, 
to  praise  him  for  past  mercies  and  implore  the  ‘continuance  of  his 
most  gracious  aid.  Our  people  having  yesterday  evening  slaugh- 
tered the  goat  which  the  king  presented  us,  it  is  necessary  to  cook 
some  of  the  flesh,  though  it  is  the  Sabbath  day.  It  is  very  fine  and 
fat,  and  quite  a luxury,  notwithstanding  we  have  had  plenty  of 
fowls,  fish,  and  oysters,  fruits  and  vegetables. 

Prince  Bushrod  is  a little  sea-sick  ; he  appears  to  be  much  pleas- 
ed with  his  dress,  and  has  been  persuaded  to  take  oft*  Ids  gregres, 
Davis  having  told  him  if  he  wore  clothes,  he  must  not  wear  gregres. 
We  calculate  to  let  him  go  to  Regent’s  town,  and  stay  with  Davis 
and  attend  school,  under  the  superintendance  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  John- 
son, wJiere  he  will  have  the  benefit  of  associating  with  some  of  his 
own  countrymen,  who  are  pious  and  useful  people. 

Monday,  April  iQth. — Last  night  there  was  a tremendous  tor- 
nado, with  much  rain  ; at  the  appearance  of  a tornado  it  is  neces- 
sary to  take  in  all  sail  immediately,  as  the  wind  generally  blows 
powerfully. 

OurKroomen  are  easily  intimidated  in  bad  weather;  they  have  on 
their  gregres,  those  which  they  think  contain  the  most  virtue  and 
are  best  calculated  to  preserve  them  from  the  greatest  danger.  I 
endeavoured  to  persuade  them  that  their  gregres  were  useless,  and 
advised  them  to  throw  them  into  the  sea,  but  my  entreaties  were 
in  vain  ; one  had  his  gregre  tied  with  a twine  around  his  head 
above  his  ears  ; I took  hold  of  the  string  and  broke  it.  On  examin- 
ing it,  I found  it  was  composed  of  a ball  of  clay,  tied  up  in  a piece 
of  white  muslin,  with  a small  feather  in  the  end  ; he  was  angry 
and  sorry  for  his  loss.  One  gave  me  his  gregre,  that  I might  view 
its  contents  : they  consisted  of  nothing  more  than  a kind  of  black 
sand  tied  up  in  a piece  of  rag.  1 threw  the  gregre  into  the  sea, 
which  grieved  him  very  much. 

The  Kroomen  were  all  alarmed  at  their  loss  ; and  expressed  fears 
that  “ tornado  catch  us,”  or  that  some  other  accident  would  happen 
to  us.  They  said  that  they  “ make  bad  palaver  on  me,”  when  we 
arrived  at  Sierra  Leone,  and  that  I should  have  to  pay  twenty  barrs 
(^qual  to  twenty  dollars).  ’I  hey  are  poor  creatures  indeed,  in  every 


22 


sense  of  the  word.  They  appear  to  be  very  aftectionate  to  eacli 
other.  When  we  are  visited  on  board  by  other  Kroomen,  they 
beg  food  for  them,  or  divide  their  own  portion  among  the  visiters. 
They  prefer  rice,  which  they  boil  and  use  with  palm  oil,  to  animal 
food.  They  sit  down  around  a large  dish  of  rice,  and  make  use  of 
their  hands  instead  of  spoons. 

Tuesday  morning,  April  17th, — We  were  off  the  Galinas  with  a 
light  wind,  proceeding  on  towards  the  Shebar,  which  is  the  entrance 
into  Sherbro  Sound,  near  the  eastern  part  of  Sherbro  island.  We 
wished  to  cross  over  the  Shebar,  which  is  difficult  without  a skilful 
pilot.  A native  who  resides  at  Bohol  within  the  bar,  on  discover- 
ing a vessel,  generally  goes  out  in  his  canoe  to  meet  her.  We 
hoped  to  be  discovered  by  him,  so  that  we  might  pass  over  in  safety. 
Our  object  was  to  visit  our  people  at  Yonie,  a native  town  on  the 
island,  opposite  Bohol,  which  is  on  the  main.  At  evening  we  heard 
the  surf  roar  as  its  waves  rolled  over  the  Shebar ; it  is  heard  seve- 
ral leagues  ; the  wind  was  ahead,  and  we  made  slow  progress.  Our 
vessel  appeared  to  leak  more  than  she  had  done,  and  the  inexpe- 
rience of  our  navigators  gave  us  great  anxiety  ; but  our  trust  was 
still  in  God  alone. 

Wednesday,  April  ISth. — Still  we  were  off  the  Shebar,  but  had 
made  little  progress  during  the  night;  at  twelve  o’clock  there  was 
a tornado  ; the  wind  blew  powerfully  twenty  or  thirty  minutes,  and 
was  accompanied  with  considerable  rain.  These  tornadoes  are 
nothing  to  be  compared  with  the  hurricanes  which  are  common 
among  the  West  India  islands. 

Thursday  morning,  April  19th, — We  were  within  sight  of  the 
Shebar,  and  had  a delightful  air  after  the  rains.  Laying  off  and 
on  with  our  vessel,  hoping  a pilot  would  come  off  to  our  assistance  ; 
several  guns  were  fired  as  signals  for  pilots,  but  none  came;  there- 
fore, we  had  but  two  alternatives,  one  was  to  sail  round  the  island, 
which  as  the  wind  is  light  requires  seven  or  ten  days;  the  other 
was  to  send  our  boat  over  the  Shebar  for  a pilot.  As  our  sailors 
were  unwilling  to  go  in  the  boat,  I prevailed  upon  them  by  pro- 
posing to  accompany  them.  After  approaching  as  near  the  Shebar 
as  was  thought  prudent,  the  vessel  was  brought  to  anchor  at  four 
o’clock,  P.  M.  The  boat  was  manned  with  the  mate  of  the  vessel 
and  three  natives,  one  a sailor,  the  others  Kroomen.  The  mate  al- 
though a tolerably  good  boatman,  apprehended  more  danger  than 
I did,  for  I had  not  much  experience  in  crossing  such  bars.  At 
length  we  started  in  the  boat,  and  approached  near  the  bar.  It  ap- 
peared dangerous  indeed.  The  mate  being  at  the  rudder,  gave  di- 
rections to  the  oarsmen  to  obey  him  promptly;  he  told  them  he 
should  watch  the  motion  of  the  waves,  and  that,  when  he  ordered 
them  to  pull  at  the  oars,  they  must  pull  for  their  lives.  We  soon 
found  our  boat  first  soaring  over  the  turbulent  waves,  then  plung- 
ing into  the  deep,  while  the  waves  were  rolling  in  quick  succes- 
sion after  us,  each  appearing  as  if  it  would  envelop  us  in  the  ocean. 
One  wave  poured  about  s’xty  gallons  of  water  into  the  boat,  which 
caused  me  active  employment  in  lading  out  the  water ; the  boat 


23 


having  been  brought  quartering  to  the  waves,  it  required  quick  ex- 
ertion by  the  men  at  the  oars,  who  were  somewhat  frightened,  but 
were  enabled  to  bring  the  boat  to  its  proper  position  before  the 
succeeding  wave  came,  which  wafted  us  over  the  greatest  danger; 
by  that  time  I had  nearly  laded  out  the  water.  Indeed,  it  was 
mercy  to  us  that  we  were  not  swallowed  up.  Not  unto  us ! not  unto 
us  ! but  unto  thy  name,  0 God,  be  all  the  glory,  both  now  and  for 
ever! 

We  soon  after  arrived  at  Bohol,  where  we  obtained  a pilot.  The 
boatmen  remained  until  the  tide  favoured  us  the  next  morning. 
Lewis  Tucker  is  head-man  at  Bohol ; he  has  many  people,  and  it 
is  feared  that  he  and  his  brothers  have  not  wholly  abolished  the 
slave  trade,  though  they  do  not  carry  it  on  as  publicly  as  at  former 
times. 

I obtained  a passage  to  Yonie,  in  one  of  Tucker’s  canoes  that 
evening,  where  I arrived  at  nine  o’clock,  and  found  the  American 
free  people  of  colour  who  had  survived  of  the  first  expedition.  I 
went  to  the  house  where  Nathaniel  Brander  resides ; he  had  the 
people  and  goods  in  charge.  I was  very  much  fatigued,  from  hav- 
ing been  wet  in  the  boat,  and  afterwards  exposed  to  the  damps  of 
the  evening.  I soon  learnt  the  condition  of  the  people,  and  found 
they  were  in  good  health ; they  had  previously  received  some  small 
supplies  from  Mr.  Winn,  at  Sierra  Leone.  After  partaking  of  some 
refreshment,  which  Brander  caused  to  be  prepared,  I read  a chap- 
ter in  the  Bible,  and  returned  thanks  to  Almighty  God  for  the  great 
mercy  and  deliverance  of  the  past  day. 

OLord! 

“ When  waves  on  waves,  to  heav’n  uprear’d, 

Defy’d  the  pilot’s  art, 

When  terror  in  each  face  appear’d. 

And  sorrow  in  each  heart. 

To  thee  I rais’d  my  humble  pray’r, 

T o snatch  me  from  the  grave ! 

I found  thine  ear  not  slow  to  hear. 

Nor  short  thine  arm  to  save !” 

I consider  my  preservation  that  day  as  one  of  the  most  extraor- 
dinary manifestations  of  Divine  grace  to  me  during  my  life. 

Yonie,  Friday  morning,  20th  April. — I arose  somewhat  indis- 
posed from  the  fatigues  and  extreme  exposure  of  the  preceding 
evening.  I visited  Prince  Cong  Kouber  ; he  is  a fine  healthy  man, 
well  formed,  handsome  featured,  and  his  very  countenance  indi- 
cating shrewdness.  He  speaks  English  so  as  to  be  understood 
tolerably  well;  is  a man  of  but  few  words,  with  much  observation, 
and  is  indeed  possessed  of  more  power  than  the  king,  although  the 
latter  is  acknowledged  by  his  subjects:  Kouber  is  prime  minister 
and  manages  as  he  pleases.  The  kings  on  the  Main  are  not  well 
pleased  with  king  Sherbro,  who  resides  at  Yonie ; so  that  that  per- 
haps was  one  cause  which  prevented  Mr.  Coker,  from  negotiating 
with  them  for  lands.  But  the  principal  reason  was,  Kizzel  having 


caused  the  agents  and  people  to  make  a temporary  stay  at  his 
place.  The  authorities  of  the  whole  country  consider  him  a 
“ stranger,”  (an  intruder,)  and,  as  he  was  employed  in  assisting 
Mr.  Coker  in  endeavouring  to  negotiate  for  lands,  they  thought 
that  he  would  monopolize  the  presents:  moreover,  he  had  already 
the  trade  with  our  people.  Even  while  they  were  sick,  and  were 
in  want  of  fresh  provisions,  Kizzel  established  himself  as  a huck- 
ster, and  bought  cheap  and  sold  dear;  and  Mr.  Coker  being  at  the 
palaver,  they  were  compelled  to  submit  to  the  imposition.  Having 
seen  all  the  American  people  who  are  at  Yonie,  and  found  that 
notwithstanding  sickness  and  death  had  occurred,  and  other  diffi- 
culties as  might  have  been  expected  from  the  decease  of  their 
agents,  and  their  having  been  left  under  the  authority  of  a man  of 
colour,  they  being  unwilling  to  be  governed  by  one  of  their  own 
race,  yet  they  were  much  pleased  witli  the  country,  and  with  the 
intelligence  that  lands  had  been  negotiated  for,  and  the  expecta- 
tion that  they  should  soon  be  in  possession  of  a suitable  portion 
wliich  they  could  call  their  own. 

At  4 o’clock,  P.  M.  our  schooner  arrived  and  anchored  in  the 
bay  of  Yonie.  We  had  more  trouble  with  our  captain,  who  un- 
mercifully beat  some  of  the  sailors  and  the  Kroomen,  which  had 
been  extremely  unpleasant  to  brother  Andrus,  and  our  native  mis- 
sionaries, w ho  were  heralds  of  mercy  and  peace. 

We  feared  that  we  should  have  trouble  with  the  king  and  na- 
tives at  Sherbro;  that  wdien  our  people  should  remove  from  there, 
they  would  extort  very  much  for  cottage  rents,  notwithstanding 
they  have  received  large  presents,  and  have  given  nothing  in  re- 
turn: it  having  been  known  to  them  that  Kizzel  had  charged  sixty 
dollars  per  month  for  one  single  hut,  while  it  was  occupied  by  our 
people. 

Saturday  mornings  21st  April, — We  left  some  small  supplies 
which  we  could  spare  from  the  schooner,  as  the  people  would  soon 
be  in  need,  unless  they  were  removed.  We  then  made  the  ne- 
cessary preparations  for  our  departure ; we  bought  a sheep  of  Kou- 
ber,  for  which  we  gave  eight  pounds  of  leaf  tobacco. 

Despatch  of  business  appears  to  be  quite  out  of  practice ; it  was 
near  night  before  we  could  prevail  on  our  captain  to  weigh  anchor 
and  get  the  vessel  under  way.  We  proceeded  on  to  Kizzell’s 
Place,  which  is  from  15  to  20  miles  distance.  At  7 o’clock,  P.  M. 
w'e  arrived  at  York  island,  where  Martin,  after  anchoring  the 
schooner,  w ent  on  shore  to  visit  his  wdfe,  who  is  a native.  We  ob- 
tained from  the  natives,  who  came  on  board,  four  or  five  gallons  of 
honey,  which  cost  about  as  many  pounds  of  leaf  tobacco;  likewise, 
several  mats  and  some  cocoanuls,  fowls,  vegetables,  &c. 

Sunday  morning,  22d  April, — We  concluded  that  it  was  a duty 
for  us  to  proceed  on,  as  the  wind  and  tide  were  in  our  favour,  and 
as  moreover,  we  had  been  informed  that  the  winds  were  very  va- 
riable in  Sherbro  Bay,  and  that  frequently  vessels  were  detained 
there  one  or  more  weeks  on  that  account. 

At  4 o’clock,  P.  M.  we  arrived  at  Campelar  (Kizzell’s  Place). 


25 


I probably  did  not  go  on  shore  without  possessing  some  prejudice 
against  Kizzell.  But,  indeed,  I was  very  much  surprised  at  his 
malignant  conduct.  After  we  had  made  ourselves  known  to  him, 
he  appeared  somewhat  disconcerted  at  seeing  the  successors  of  our 
deceased  friends.  He,  doubtless,  felt  some  compunctions  on  ac- 
count of  his  baseness.  Our  intention  was  to  tarry  but  a short  time 
on  shore.  We  asked  him  to  show  us  the  ground  where  our  prede- 
cessors and  people  were  buried,  and  we  expressed  a wish  to  see 
Ids  “ meridian,”  [spring]  as  he  sometimes  denominates  it.  At 
length  we  walked  to  his  spring,  and  in  the  very  appearance  of  the 
water  saw  an  indication  of  its  impurity ; it  appeared  to  be  in  a state 
of  fermentation,  and,  I must  confess,  I did  not  wish  to  taste  it. 

After  we  returned,  we  passed  by  his  church,  as  he  denominated 
it.  It  was  built  in  the  native  style,  and  would  contain  about  one 
hundred  people.  There  was  a kind  of  desk  on  which  lay  a Bible 
and  hymn  book.  But  if  the  life  and  conduct  of  the  speaker  were 
as  humble  as  the  appearance  of  the  house,  they  would  better  cor- 
respond. May  the  Lord  give  him  grace  to  repent;  and  may  he  be 
forgiven. 

We  also  visited  the  graves  of  our  friends,  and  found  them  so 
situated  that  the  spring  tides  overflow  them.  Indeed  Kizzell  was 
under  the  necessity  of  building  a mud  wall  along  the  beach,  to  pre- 
vent the  water  from  flowing  quite  into  his  cottages.  The  island 
is  low,  bad  land,  literally  a mangrove  swamp,  unfit  for  cultivating 
with  any  degree  of  comfort  or  profit.  The  exhalations  from  its 
soils  renders  the  atmosphere  very  unpleasant.  This  made  our 
return  on  board  the  vessel  desirable.  It  is  indeed  unpleasant  to 
dwell  upon  Kizzell’s  conduct,  though  it  may  be  deemed  necessary 
to  make  some  exposition  of  its  baseness.  While  viewing  those 
solitary  abodes  of  our  friends,  I said  to  Kizzell,  I conclude  you 
have  no  objections  to  those  corpses  remaining  here,  as  a removal 
would  be  inexpedient,  and  the  ground  is  of  no  value?  His  reply 
was,  that  the  Rev.  Samuel  Bacon  agreed,  at  the  burial  of  Dr.  Sa- 
muel A.  Crozer,  and  Captain  Townsend,  that  he  would  cause 
them  to  be  removed  after  lands  should  be  obtained,  and  the  set- 
tlers located  on  them;  and  he  seemed  to  expect  a fulfilment  of 
that  agreement.  I then  put  the  question  thus:  Do  you  expect  an 
equivalent  if  those  bodies  should  remain  ? He  seemed  to  endea- 
vour to  evade  a direct  answer,  and  said  that  they  ought  to  be  re- 
moved. I then  said  to  him.  Are  you  willing  that  they  should  re- 
main here,  if  you  have  pay  for  the  ground  r His  answer  was  in  the 
affirmative.  He  had  at  the  same  time  already  sent  an  account  to 
Sierra  Leone,  to  Mr.  Winn,  principal  agent,  amounting  to  almost 
g800  dollars;  and  yet  his  avaricious  appetite  was  not  satisfied. 
We  left  Kizzell,  with  our  prejudices  increased  rather  than  les- 
sened. 

Monday  morning,  April  23d. — At  six  o’clock,  we  weighed  an- 
chor, but  we  had  not  proceeded  far,  before  a canoe  which  Tamba 
had  purchased,  and  which  was  tied  slightly  to  the  vessel  with  a 
rope,  parted,  the  wind  blowing  powerfully,  and  we  sailing  very 


20 


fast.  This  caused  ns  to  anchor,  having  previously  manned  our 
boat  and  sent  for  the  canoe.  Martin  was  told  that  the  canoe  was 
unsafe  in  her  present  situation.  But  we  had  reason  to  think  that 
he  was  willing  to  protract  the  voyage  on  account  of  his  being  pro- 
fitably employed.  He  knew  if  the  wind  continued,  and  we  pro- 
ceeded on  without  obstacle,  we  should  soon  arrive  so  far  down  the 
bay  as  to  have  the  benefit  of  the  sea  breeze,  which  prevails  after 
ten  o’clock  A.  M.  and  thus  reach  Sierra  Leone  in  a short  time. 

At  8 o’clock,  P.  M.  we  anchored  near  the  Plantain  islands.  We 
were  very  anxious  to  hear  from  Sierra  Leone.  Brother  Andrus  - 
had  concluded  to  return  to  America,  and  we  were  in  hopes  that 
the  Nautilus  had  not  left  Sierra  Leone,  but  that  he  might  avail 
himself  of  the  opportunity  of  returning  by  her.  If  disappointed  in 
this  resolution,  he  had  resolved  to  go  by  the  way  of  England,  which 
must  necessarily  increase  both  the  time  and  expense. 

He  was  induced  to  yield  to  this  determination  by  the  probabi- 
lity that  the  American  blacks  would  not  be  removed  to  the  Bassa 
country,  until  after  the  rainy  season  ; and  that,  therefore,  the  as- 
sistance of  all  the  agents  would  not  be  necessary  to  administer 
to  their  wants.  Having  discovered  the  want  of  missionaries  in 
Africa,  and  the  ardent  desire  of  the  natives  to  receive  them,  he  had 
formed  the  resolution  to  resign  his  appointment  as  agent  to  the  Co- 
lonization Society,  and  return  to  these  shores  in  the  capacity  of  a 
missionary,  and  here  spend  the  remainder  of  his  days  in  his  Mas- 
ter’s service,  as  had  been  his  wish  before  leaving  America. 

Tiiesdai/,  Jlvril  24th. — Having  as  usual  come  to  anchor  last  night, 
we  got  under  sail  this  morning,  at  six  o’clock.  At  half  past  eight 
o’clock,  A.  M.  brother  Andrus  and  Tamba,  left  the  schooner,  and 
went  in  our  boat,  in  company  with  two  Kroomen  in  a canoe,  which 
Tamba  had  bought  for  the  purpose  of  leaving  us.  His  object  was 
to  go  and  labour  as  a missionary,  in  the  Sherbro  country.  He  had 
determined  to  do  so  before  our  arrival  at  Sierra  Leone ; but  Mr. 
Johnson,  learning  that  we  were  in  want  of  interpreters  to  explore 
the  coast,  proposed,  that  he  should  accompany  us  on  our  excursion, 
and  that  he  should  stop  at  Sherbro  on  our  return.  The  wind  was 
very  light,  and  we  made  slow  progress,  and  soon  came  to  anchor. 
At  two  o’clock  brother  Andrus  met  us,  after  our  vessel  had  got  un- 
der way. 

He  was  much  pleased  with  his  visit  to  the  Plantains,  and  said 
the  islands  were  delightfully  situated  and  very  fertile.  He  was 
agreeably  entertained  by  the  owner  of  them,  George  Caulker,  who 
was  a native  African,  educated  in  England.  He  found  him  em- 
ployed in  writing,  his  table  being  well  furnished  with  papers.  He 
learnt  that  he  had  translated  the  liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England 
into  the  Bullum  language,  and  was  engaged  in  translating  the 
Bible,  and  had  made  considerable  progress  in  the  book  of  Genesis. 

O ! how  cheering  is  the  thought  that  the  time  is  fast  approaching, 
and  near  at  hand,  when  the  Bullum  people  will  read  and  hear  in 
their  own  language,  of  the  wonderful  works  of  God  ; and  this  too, 
through  the  instrumentality  of  one  of  their  own  kindred  and  tribe, 


21 


w ho  hath,  perhaps,  been  concerned  in  that  bane  of  Africa,  the  slave 
trade  ; but  who,  after  having  acquired  an  English  education,  and 
received  the  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  his  heart,  has  been  in- 
duced to  commence  the  laudable  work  of  translating  the  pages  of  / 
the  Book  of  Life. 

Mr.  Andrus  found  Caulker  to  be  a man  of  talents  ; and  obtained 
from  him  much  useful  information.  Caulker  professed  an  attach- 
ment to  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  England,  and  is 
thought  to  be  a pious  man.  Mr.  Andrus  informed  him  of  the  sub- 
ject of  our  mission,  and  that  we  had  negotiated  for  lands  in  the 
Bassa  country.  Caulker  stated  that  he  had  travelled  into  the  inte- 
rior of  that  country,  and  that  he  deemed  it  the  most  eligible  situa- 
tion for  our  settlement  of  any  on  the  coast,  being  as  it  was  situ- 
ated in  the  centre  of  the  Grain  Coast.  He  said  that  its  inhabitants 
were  unwarlike,  and  less  hostile  than  any  of  the  neighbouring 
tribes — that  the  coast  was  accessible  to  small  vessels,  and  that  large 
ships  might  lie  at  anchor  within  two  or  three  miles  distance ; and 
moreover,  that  its  soil  was  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  any  other  on 
the  western  coast,  and  its  herds  far  preferable.  Caulker  exhibited 
some  neat  cattle  and  swine  as  a specimen,  they  having  been  brought 
from  the  Bassa  country.  Mr.  A.  said  the  swine  were  equal  to  those 
in  America  in  general,  and  the  neat  cattle  superior  to  any  he  had 
ever  seen  in  Africa. 

Caulker’s  house  was  furnished  in  English  style ; his  dress  ac- 
corded with  it,  and  he  had  an  English  school  on  his  island. 

Before  he  left  the  Plantain  island,  brother  Andrus  inquired  of 
Caulker  whether  the  lime  trees  were  growing  on  that  island,  wdiich 
the  Rev.  John  Newton  planted,  while  a slave  in  Africa.  Mr, 
Caulker  said  they  were  still  growing,  and  show^ed  them  to  Mr.  An- 
drus. Mr.  A.  plucked  some  branches,  and  brought  them  to  Sierra 
Leone. 

Caulker,  like  all  others  who  have  had  any  intercourse  with  Kiz- 
zell,  consider  him  an  unprincipled  man  and  a stranger”  in  the 
country,  and  that  our  people  could  not  have  stopped  at  a more  un- 
suitable spot  than  Campelar.  Tamba  commenced  his  missionary 
tour  among  the  Sherbro  (Bullum)  people,  with  twm  Kroomen  to 
paddle  his  canoe. — Tamba  and  Davis  are  supported  by  the  Church 
Missionary  Society  in  England,  and  they  appear  to  be  useful  good 
men. 

Wednesday  morning,  *dpril  25th. — We  were  between  the  Banana 
islands  and  Cape  Shilling,  and  had  a fair  view  of  each  ; Cape  Shil- 
ling is  the  place  where  the  late  Rev.  Samuel  Bacon  died. 

He  left  Campelar  (Kizzell’s  Place)  about  the  last  of  April,  1820, 
in  an  open  boat,  for  the  purpose  of  going  to  Sierra  Leone,  in  order 
to  procure  medical  aid.  He  expected  to  fall  in  with  an  English 
vessel,  but  he  was  not  in  time.  Therefore,  he  directed  his  men  to 
proceed  on  in  the  boat;  he  arrived  at  Cape  Shilling  on  the  first  of 
May.  Cape  Shilling  is  an  English  settlement  of  recaptured  Afri- 
cans. A Captain  Randle  was  the  English  agent,  residing  there. 

He  received  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bacon  into  the  mission-house,  and  hos- 


28 


pitably  administered  to  his  wants,  as  did  also  Mrs.  Randle.  They 
affectionately  acted  the  part  of  the  good  Samaritan,  and  rendered 
him  every  assistance  in  their  power — For  which  I gave  them  mj 
most  hearty  thanks  ; as  I visited  them  at  Freetown,  soon  after  our 
arrival.  And  I pray  God  Almighty  to  bless  and  reward  them  in 
this  world,  and  in  that  which  is  to  come. 

Alas ! the  extreme  anxiety  of  mind,  of  my  dear  brother,  and  his 
most  arduous  labours  among  the  American  people  of  colour,  at  Kiz- 
zelPs  Place  ; being  as  he  was  constantly  employed  with  the  sick 
and  dying  both  day  and  night,  while  sick  himself,  with  the  use  of 
that  bad  water,  which  it  was  said  Kizzell  did  not  use  even  in  his 
own  family  of  native  Africans,  proved  too  much  for  him.  On  the 
third  day  of  May,  1820,  he  departed  this  life;  and  we  have  good 
reason  to  believe  he  is  with  Christ,  which  is  far  better.  He  was 
buried  in  a decent  manner.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Randle  paid  him  the 
last  acts  of  benevolence. 

In  him  I lost  an  affectionate  and  dear  brother,  and  a brother  in 
Christ. 

I did  not  go  on  shore  at  Cape  Shilling  ; therefore,  I could  not 
visit  the  grave  of  dear  Samuel.  The  wind  was  fair  which  wafted 
us  along. 

Thursday f April  26. — We  had  a head  wind,  and  many  difiScul- 
ties  to  encounter.  We  caught,  however,  an  abundance  of  fish.  Our 
greatest  difficulty  was,  as  we  came  into  the  harbour  of  Sierra 
Leone.  Captain  Martin,  (as  if  he  had  not  caused  us  sufficient  trou- 
ble) managing  the  vessel,  to  bring  her  into  port,  did  not  take  in  sail 
in  time  and  let  go  the  anchor,  but  let  her  run  against  the  wharf,  and 
it  was  with  great  difficulty  that  we  got  her  off  again,  and  brought 
her  to  an  anchor. 

Indeed  our  troubles  have  been  neither  few  nor  small ; sometimes 
I have  thought  they  were  enough  to  exhaust  the  patience  of  a Job, 
or  appal  the  faith  of  a Moses.  But  the  Lord  had  hitherto  blessed 
us,  therefore  we  give  him  ail  of  the  glory  both  now  and  evermore. 

Sierra  LeonSy  Fridaify  April  27th. — We  had  learned  that  the 
Nautilus  had  sailed  on  her  return  to  America,  so  that  brother  An- 
drus resolved  to  return  by  the  way  of  England. 

At  10  o’clock,  we  visited  Foura  Bay  Farm,  which  is  about  two 
miles  from  Freetown.  There  we  found  Mr.  Winn,  conveniently 
located  with  the  blacks  who  accompanied  us  from  America,  together 
with  some  of  those  from  Sherbro.  There  is  a large  mansion-house 
and  several  out-houses,  and  tenements,  sufficiently  capacious  for 
the  accommodation  of  the  people,  and  the  storage  of  the  goods,  pro- 
visions, &c.  which  Mr.  Winn  negotiated  for  about  two  weeks  after 
we  sailed  down  the  coast.  We  found  our  friends  in  tolerable 
health,  though  there  had  been  some  slight  cases  of  illness,  accom- 
panied with  fever,  but  they  had  mostly  subsided,  and  the  coloured 
people  said  they  were  well  pleased  with  Africa  ; they  had  lands 
suitable  for  cultivation,  and  had  made  some  progress. 

After  informing  our  friends  of  our  obtaining  lands,  &c.  Mr.  An- 
drus and  myself,  went  back  to  Freetown,  where  he  went  on  board 


^9 


the  schooner,  and  I visited  the  Rev.  Samuel  Flood,  chaplain  of  the 
English  colony:  after  I had  dined  with  him,  he  very  politely  fur- 
nished me  with  a horse,  on  which  I rode  to  Regent’s  town,  where 
my  wife  was  sick  of  a fever ; she  had  the  attack  on  the  evening  pre- 
vious, but  it  was  not  very  violent.  We  had  abundant  reason  to  be 
thankful  to  God,  for  his  mercy,  in  sparing  us  to  see  each  other 
again  in  this  world. 

Mrs.  Bacon  w'as  very  politely  and  hospitably  treated  at  good  Mr. 
Johnson’s : she,  morning  and  evening,  enjoyed  in  the  church,  the 
sight  of  the  children  of  Ethiopia,  stretching  out  their  hands  unto 
God,  and  united  with  them  in  praising  his  most  holy  name. 

Mr.  Johnson  was  delighted  to  hear  that  we  had  made  a contract 
for  lands  in  the  Bassa  country  : he  is  very  much  interested  in  the 
accomplishment  of  our  several  designs  for  the  improvement  of  the 
African  race.  He  is  a faithful  minister  of  Christ,  and  labours  to 
save  the  souls  of  his  fellow  men.  We  found  it  good  to  unite  again 
with  those  who  daily  offered  up  their  supplications  in  our  behalf  at 
the  throne  of  grace. 

Regenfs  towUy  Saturday  morning,  Jlpril  QSth. — My  wife  is  just 
able  to  walk  by  leaning  upon  my  arm  ; anxiety  of  mind  perhaps 
was  one  cause  of  her  illness.  At  one  o’clock,  P.  M.  she  appears  to 
be  worse;  she  had  a physician,  who  daily  attends  Miss  Johnson, 
w’ho  is  also  sick  ; four  o’clock,  there  is  not  much  alteration,  rather 
worse.  At  six  o’clock,  P.  M.  the  people  are  assembled  in  church, 
where  there  is  reading,  praising  and  praying : it  is  indeed  gratify- 
ing to  see  the  improvements  which  are  made  here  ; the  very  hills 
resound  with  the  praises  of  God,  and  of  the  Lamb.  O that  the 
Lord  would  cause  his  word  to  extend  from  the  rivers  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth ! 

RegenVs  town,  Sunday  morning,  29th  JipriL — Mrs.  Bacon  is  very 
ill : she  is  attended  by  Dr.  Macauley  Wilson,  a native  of  the  Buf- 
lum  tribe  ; he  was  educated  in  England,  is  an  assistant  surgeon  in 
this  colony  ; a decent,  well-behaved  man  ; and  is  considered  skil- 
ful in  his  profession.  This  morning  the  church  was  filled  at  six 
o’clock,  as  is  usual,  and  a lesson  was  read,  together  with  singing 
and  prayers;  after  which  we  breakfasted,  and  then  had  prayers  in 
the  family,  Mrs.  Bacon  appears  to  be  worse.  O Lord,  the  issues 
of  life  and  death  are  in  thine  hand. 

At  ten  o’clock  the  people  were  all  in  motion,  coming  to  the 
church  from  all  parts  of  the  town.  0 ! these  are  the  fruits  of  the 
labours  of  a faithful  missionary,  accompanied  by  the  blessings  of 
that  God  who  has  said,  “ in  the  morning  sow  thy  seed,  and  in  the 
evening  withhold  not  thy  hand  ; for  thou  knowest  not  which  shall 
prosper,  this  or  that.” 

At  3 o’clock,  the  people  are  again  flocking  together  to  hear  the 
word  of  life.  Their  very  countenances  show  that  they  are  anxious 
to  learn  of  Him  who  is  meek  and  lowly  of  heart.  “ These  are  times 
which  kings  and  prophets  desired  to  see,”  but  did  not  see  them  ; 
and  as  I walk  around  the  house  in  the  piazza,  I can  see  all  parts  of 
the  settlement,  and  there  is  scarcely  an  individual  to  be  seen' — all 


30 


are  at  church.  Indeed  “ these  people  live  a life  of  prayer  and 
praise.”  At  6 o’clock  this  evening  the  goodly  shepherd  again  brake 
the  bread  of  life  to  his  flock,  whose  appetites  seem  to  crave  more  of 
that,  which,  if  a man  eat  thereof,  he  shall  live  forever.  Thus  the 
labours  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Johnson  are  perpetuated  ; he  preaches  twice 
or  thrice  every  Sabbath,  and  has  prayers  in  church  morning  and 
evening,  besides  prayer  meetings  and  lectures. 

At  9 o’clock  Mrs.  Bacon  appears  no  better;  the  fever  seems  to 
increase. 

Monday  mornings  April  SOth. — Mrs.  Bacon  was  worse  last  night 
than  at  any  time  previous.  I remain  with  her  while  the  family  are 
at  prayers,  but  it  is  deemed  necessary  that  we  should  separate  for 
a short  time.  As  we  know  every  thing  wdiich  could  tend  to  melio- 
rate her  sufferings  would  be  undoubtedly  done ; and  as  there  was 
business  to  transact  at  Foura  Bay,  discharging  the  schooner’s  crew, 
and  consulting  with  the  agents  upon  the  propriety  of  removing  the 
people  from  Sherbro,  or  sending  them  some  necessaries  of  life; 
therefore,  my  dear  wife  and  myself  deemed  it  expedient  for  me  to 
go,  and  leave  the  event  to  God,  who  doeth  all  things  well.  After 
imploring  God’s  blessing  on  us,  I left  Regent’s  town,  with  an  ex- 
pectation of  visiting  it  again  on  the  Wednesday  evening  following. 
These  are  times  which  are  calculated  to  try  me,  of  what  spirit  I 
am.  As  I walked  from  Regent’s  town,  it  was  a time  of  self-exa- 
mination. I inquired  whether  I was,  or  w as  not  sorry  that  I came 
to  Africa;  but  I had  expected  sickness  to  occur,  and  perhaps  death; 
and  I concluded  if  we  were  to  die  in  endeavouring  to  benefit  the 
heathen,  and  destroy  that  most  detestable  traffic,  the  slave  trade, 
it  w'ould  be  in  as  good  a cause  as  we  could  desire.  I was  fully 
confirmed  in  the  opinion,  that  Africa  presented  an  ample  field  for 
the  exercises  of  benevolence,  and  that  the  Christian  wmrld  owed 
her  a debt  of  gratitude;  therefore,  left  the  event  to  Gojo  alone,  and 
endeavoured  to  seek  his  direction. 


I arrived  at  Foura  Bay  at  10  o’clock,  A.  M.  and  found  some 
slight  illness  among  the  people  of  colour,  but  nothing  alarming, 
except  the  case  of  one  woman,  who  was  in  a decline  before  she 
left  America.  I discharged  the  crew  from  the  schooner  in  the  bay, 
and  placed  some  of  our  men  on  board  to  take  care  of  her. 

Tuesday  mornings  May  1st. — A messenger  arrived  with  a note 
from  Mr.  Johnson,  which  informed  me  that  Mrs.  Bacon  had  less 
fever  than  on  the  morning  I left  her;  I immediately  despatched 
the  messenger.  Having  exerted  myself  overmuch,  and  suffered 
considerable  anxiety  of  mind,  and  having  moreover  drank  too 
freely  of  water,  which  is  thouglit  to  be  prejudicial  to  the  health  of 
white  people  in  Africa;  at  11  o’clock,  A.  M.  I felt  somewhat  indis- 
posed ; perspiration  ceased ; I w as  attacked  with  pain  in  the  back 
part  of  the  head,  neck,  and  back.  I immediately  went  on  board 
the  schooner,  where  brother  Andrus  and  myself  still  had  our  loilg- 
ings ; took  some  medicine  and  retired  to  my  birth.  I soon  found  a 
chilliness  to  pervade  the  w'hole  system.  I even  found  it  necessary 
to  use  flannel  blankets.  After  about  two  hours,  the  chill  was  suc- 


\ 


31 


ceeded  by  fever,  which  continued  until  nine  in  the  evening,  when 
it  intermitted,  the  medicine  having  had  its  desired  effect.  The 
stomach  being  in  a state  for  the  reception  of  tonics,  and  brother 
Andrus  having  a small  treatise  of  practice,  by  Dr.  Winterbottom, 
which  directed  bark  to  be  given  in  as  large  quantities  as  the  sto- 
mach would  receive,  brother  Andrus  followed  that  plan  during  the 
night,  and  attended  to  me  very  kindly. 

Wednesday  morning,  2d  May. — No  fever,  and  continued  to  use 
the  bark  until  4 o’clock,  P.  M.  Dr.  Macauley  Wilson  arrived ; after 
he  had  been  informed  of  the  course  which  had  been  pursued,  highly 
approved  of  it;  he  then  gave  me  two  calomel  pills,  w'hich  had  the 
desired  effect,  after  which  the  bark  was  continued. 

Thursday  morning,  Sd  May,  Four  a Bay. — At  four  o’clock  a chill 
came  on  again,  succeeded  by  fever,  w'hich  continued  until  three 
o’clock,  P.  M.  After  it  had  intermitted,  brother  Andrus  again 
gave  me  the  bark,  two  or  three  teaspoonfuls  once  an  hour.  I had 
become  very  much  debilitated  for  so  short  an  illness.  A message 
came  from  Mr.  Johnson,  saying  that  Mrs.  Bacon  had  not  as  much 
fever. 

Monday  morning,  7th  May. — Being  a little  better,  I went  on 
shore  for  the  purpose  of  remaining.  Mrs.  Bacon,  who  had  heard 
of  my  illness,  was  brought  as  far  as  Gloucester,  where  she  became 
too  ill  to  proceed.  These  were  trials  of  faith;  but  during  my 
whole  sickness,  that  peace  was  experienced  which  “ passeth  know- 
ledge.” 

During  the  following  days,  I received  several  notes  from  the 
Rev.  Mr.  During,  at  Gloucester,  by  one  of  his  servants,  which  in- 
formed me  of  the  low  state  of  Mrs.  Bacon’s  health,  and  kindly 
stated  that  every  means  should  be  exerted  to  make  her  as  comfort- 
able as  the  circumstances  of  her  case  would  admit;  however,  her 
anxiety  about  me  was  so  great,  that  it  was  thought  by  her  physi- 
cian, that  a removal  to  Foura  Bay  would  probably  be  beneficial. 
Mr.  Johnson,  therefore,  again  sent  six  or  eight  of  his  captured  peo- 
ple with  a palanquin,  accompanied  by  Dr.  Wilson,  who  caused 
her  to  be  removed,  although  she  was  unable  to  sit  up.  At  length 
the  company  arrived.  Our  heavenly  Father  permitted  us  once 
more  to  meet  in  this  world,  and  unite  our  thanksgiving  to  Him 
who  is  all  in  all  to  those  that  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Sunday  morning.  May  ISth. — About  two  o’clock,  two  of  the  offi- 
cers of  the  United  States  schooner  Alligator  arrived  at  Foura  Bay, 
they  having  anchored  oft'  the  harbour  of  Freetown  the  preceding 
evening.  We  were  much  rejoiced  to  see  them  so  ardently  engaged 
in  the  laudable  work  of  annoying  the  detestable  slave  trade. 

On  Sundays  there  are  meetings  in  the  settlement,  at  which  the 
coloured  preachers  generally  officiate,  and  they  often  meet  for 
prayers  in  the  evenings  during  the  week. 

Monday,  May. — We  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  lieutenant 

commandant  Stockton,  of  the  Alligator,  by  whose  politeness  we 
received  a number  of  communications  from  the  United  States. 

Tuesday  morning,  loth  May. — The  Alligator  sailed  on  a cruise 


to  the  south-eastward  in  search  of  slaving  vessels.  Mrs.  Bacon 
still  remains  very  ill. 

Mr.  Winn  and  myself  deemed  it  expedient  to  repair  the  schoon- 
er Augusta,  for  the  purpose  of  removing  the  people  from  Yonie,  to 
the  Bassa  country,  as  soon  as  the  rainy  season  subsides,  or  sooner 
if  thought  best.  It  was  determined  that  I should  cause  the  schooner 
to  be  examined. 

Wednesday,  l^th  May. — Brother  Andrus  is  preparing  to  leave 
us,  on  his  return  to  the  United  States,  by  the  way  of  England ; very- 
little  can  be  done  during  the  rains,  except  attending  to  the  wants 
of  the  people. 

Thursday  morning,  17th  May. — This  day  I walked  to  Freetown, 
a distance  of  about  two  miles,  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  a ship- 
carpenter,  to  examine  the  schooner  and  ascertain  her  condition, 
and  succeeded  in  obtaining  one:  1 visited  Mr.  Justice  Crage,  who 
very  politely  proposed  that  I should  ride  back,  and  lent  me  his 
horse  for  that  purpose.  This  day’s  exertion  nearly  proved  fatal. 
On  my  return,  I also  found  Mrs.  Bacon  very  ill,  so  that  our  hopes 
of  speedy  recovery  were  blasted,  and  the  prospects  of  future  use- 
fulness clouded ; however,  we  still  continued  to  look  for  help  to 
God  alone. 

Friday,  18f/^  May. — From  this  date  not  having  kept  a regular 
diary,  I shall  only  mention  occurrences  of  the  most  importance. 
The  ship-carpenter  examined  the  vessel  and  reported  her  worthy 
of  repairs  ; he  was  therefore  employed  to  repair  her  as  speedily  as 
possible ; but  despatch  of  business  being  uncommon,  we  were  taught 
to  expect  that  probably  six  or  eight  weeks  would  be  required  to  fit 
her  for  use. 

June  1st. — For  the  past  two  weeks,  Mrs.  Bacon  and  myself  have 
been  unable  to  attend  to  very  little  business  of  any  kind.  Mr. 
Winn  has  been  ill  a few'  days.  Mr.  Andrus  has  engaged  his  passage 
for  England,  and  expects  to  sail  in  about  ten  days;  he  is  much 
pleased  with  the  prospects  of  being  useful  in  Africa,  and  appears 
to  be  extremely  well  calculated  for  a missionary  as  well  as  an 
agent,  the  climate  agreeing  with  his  constitution;  his  health,  hith- 
erto, has  been  better  than  that  of  any  of  the  agents. 

June  llih,  Monday. — Mrs.  Bacon  and  myself  are  still  rather 
worse,  more  debilitated,  particularly  myself.  We  are  so  ill  that 
brother  Andrus  has  suggested  to  us  the  propriety  of  his  remaining 
in  my  stead,  and  Mrs.  Bacon  and  myself  going  to  the  United  States, 
it  being  supposed  a sea  voyage  would  prove  beneficial  to  our  healths. 
Having  been  at  Freetown  for  the  purpose  of  making  some  arrange- 
ments concerning  his  passage  to  England,  and  learnt  that  a schoon- 
er, which  was  a prize  vessel,  but  had  been  purchased  by  the  ho- 
nourable K.  Macauley,  is  about  to  be  sent  to  Barbadoes  for  sale, 
and  in  this  schooner  he  has  been  offered  a passage  free  of  expense. 
On  his  first  making  the  offer,  I told  him  I did  not  feel  disposed  to 
go,  as  I had  not  thought  of  returning;  but,  after  further  reflection, 
I consulted  my  physician,  who  advised  our  taking  the  voyage.  I 
consulted  also  Mr.  Winn  on  the  subject,  and  finally  I concluded 


33 


to  embrace  the  opportunity,  provided  Mrs.  Bacon  and  myself  could 
obtain  a passage.  Mr.  Andrus  went  again  to  Freetown,  and  ob- 
tained a passage  for  us  in  the  same  schooner,  being  politely  and 
gratuitously  offered  by  the  honourable  K.  Macauley.  Thus  Mr. 
Andrus  very  kindly  consented  to  remain  and  assist  Mr.  Winn,  if 
he  desired  it,  in  my  stead ; for  which  kindness,  as  well  as  for  mak- 
ing the  necessary  preparations  for  the  outfit,  I feel  much  indebted 
to  him. 

Wednesday,  ISth  June. — Our  baggage  was  removed  to  the  boat, 
and  we  were  by  the  assistance  of  our  friends  supported  to  the  boat. 
We  arrived  at  the  schooner  about  six  o’clock,  P.  M.  very  much 
exhausted  ; we  rested  but  indifferently  during  the  night;  the  next 
morning  brought  with  it  troubles  long  to  be  remembered,  but  I hope 
never  to  forget  the  goodness  of  God  in  sustaining  us  by  his  grace : 
at  about  9 o’clock  the  heat  became  oppressive;  Mrs.  Bacon  was 
taken  extremely  ill,  and  had  she  not  obtained  immediate  aid  would 
probably  have  survived  but  a short  time.  But  the  timely  assist- 
ance of  Dr.  Riche,  an  English  surgeon,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  ren- 
dered her  relief;  at  the  same  time  I became  worse  myself.  Thus 
situated,  neither  of  us  able  to  help  the  other,  just  embarking  on  a 
voy^age  of  five  thousand  miles,  a voyage  too  which  we  had  recently 
found  very  irksome,  when  we  were  enjoying  the  best  of  health,  it 
was  by  no  means  pleasant. — When  we  came  on  board,  the  time  of 
our  departure  was  not  fixed;  but  as  there  was  every  day  more  or 
less  rain,  our  healths  required  that  we  should  avail  ourselves  of 
the  first  opportunity  to  get  on  board,  that  we  might  be  in  readiness 
to  sail  at  any  moment,  when  the  vessel  should  be  prepared.  Dur- 
ing the  time  of  our  laying  in  the  harbour,  we  were  both  more  ill 
than  at  any  time  previous;  we  were  situated  in  the  cabin  in  oppo- 
site births,  one  on  each  side,  unable  to  assist  each  other,  or  to  help 
ourselves;  the  coloured  man  who  was  to  accompany  us  w’as  em- 
ployed in  procuring  the  necessary  supplies,  so  that  he  could  be  with 
us  but  little.  Brother  Andrus^  visited  us  occasionally,  which  ren- 

* The  Rev.  Joseph  R.  Andrus  departed  this  life  on  the  28th  July,  1821,  af- 
ter  a sliort  illness,  at  Sierra  Leone,  on  the  coast  of  Africa.  By  the  death  of  this 
pious  and  worthy  man,  the  church  and  the  cause  of  humanity  have  sustained 
an  additional  loss.  “When  the  glories  of  the  miglitiest  and  proudest  conquer- 
or that  ever  dazzled  the  world  with  the  splendour  of  his  exjiloits,  shall  have 
faded  away,  and  have  been  rolled  in  that  oblivious  tide  wliich  sweeps  away  all 
that  man  calls  good  and  great,  the  names  of  Andrus,  and  Bacon,  and  Mills,  shall 
shine  bright  in  the  philanthropic  page.  The  sons  of  Africa  shall  tell  to  their 
latest  descendants,  how  these  men  of  God  left  father  and  mother,  and  brother 
and  sister,  and  all  the  sweet  endearments  of  friendship  and  of  home,  to  cross 
the  wide  ocean,  and  dwell  beneath  the  burning  sky,  and  tlie  blasting  heats  of 
her  inhospitable  wilds,  and  counted  not  their  own  lives  dear  unto  them,  that 
they  might  preach  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ.  Their  infants  shall  be 
taught  to  lisp  the  names  of  these  benefactors  of  their  race,  to  lift  their  hearts 
in  gratitude  to  Him  who  inclined  these  servants  of  tlie  Most  High  to  go  forth 
in  order  to  prepare  in  their  desert  a highway  to  the  Lord.” 

Since  the  death  of  the  above,  we  have  to  record  the  melancholy  intelligence 
of  the  deaths  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Winn,  who  died  at  the  same  place  in  the  month 
of  August,  1821. 

K 


34 


dered  our  situation  more  agreeable;  still,  however,  we  were  often 
under  the  necessity  of  calling  on  the  captain,  and  S.  Easton,  esq. 
the  supercargo.  When  they  were  on  board  they  were  very  oblig- 
ing to  us.  These  were  solemn  hours.  As  we  viewed  each  other,  it 
appeared  probable  that  the  time  of  our  separation  was  near  at  hand. 
Still  our  hope  was  in  God. 

At  length  we  took  leave  of  our  friends  on  Saturday,  the  16th  of 
June,  and  sailed  out  of  the  harbour  of  Sierra  Leone  with  the  morn- 
ing tide,  but  did  not  proceed  far  before  evening.  In  the  evening 
I was  much  worse;  indeed  it  was  a time  long  to  be  remembered  : I 
had  no  expectations  of  surviving;  accordingly  I gave  directions  to 
my  wife,  and  commended  her,  together  with  the  cause  in  which  we 
were  engaged,  to  Him  who  has  promised  to  be  a father  to  the  father- 
less, and  the  widow’s  God.  Death  appeared  fast  approaching,  and 
I must  say  that  grim  messenger  had  lost  his  terrors,  and  I could 
then  exclaim,  “O  grave,  where  is  thy  victory !”  It  was  solemn 
but  interesting  to  behold  the  dear  wife  of  my  bosom,  though  unable 
to  help  herself,  making  what  appeared  to  be  the  last  effort  to  render 
my  last  moments  comfortable.  The  exercises  of  my  mind,  under 
these  circumstances,  I am  unable  to  describe.  The  happiness  of 
which  I then  enjoyed  a foretaste,  was  unspeakable;  not  that  I had 
merited  any  thing  of  myself,  neither  was  I worthy  of  the  comfort 
with  which  I was  favoured  ; Christ  was  all  in  all. 

Sunday  morning,  17th  J^ine, — I awoke,  and  was  astonished  to 
find  myself  in  this  troublesome  world.  I was  exercised  with  dread- 
ful pains,  which  pervaded  my  whole  system.  For  a considerable 
time  I was  unable  to  speak.  Discovering  our  family  Bible  lying 
near,  I made  signs  for  it  to  be  given  to  me,  which  it  was.  I soon 
spoke;  1 had  no  distinct  recollections  of  the  exercises  of  my  mind 
during  the  night,  but  I imagined  that  I had  arisen  from  the  bed  of 
death.  I then  thought  I esteemed  the  Bible  much  more  highly  than 
I had  ever  before  ; I considered  it  holy  indeed,  and  that  almost  a 
touch  would  pollute  it.  Probably  the  change  of  air,  and  the  motion 
of  the  vessel  caused  the  fever  to  form  a crisis,  which  the  constitu- 
tion, by  Divine  assistance,  was  enabled  to  endure. 

After  this,  a gradual  recovery  took  place;  my  wife  was  my  phy- 
sician, and  constant  attendant.  Still  we  found  difficulties  which 
were  unpleasant.  The  captain  and  mate  were  Englishmen,  and 
several  of  the  crew;  but  several  others  were  Spaniards,  beside 
which  there  were  some  negroes.  To  these  the  Spaniards  took  a 
dislike,  from  the  time  of  embarkation:  several  rencounters  took 
place;  the  Spaniards  not  unfrequently  threatened  the  lives  of  the 
negroes;  but  Mr.  Easton  (the  supercargo),  the  captain,  and  some- 
times Mrs.  Bacon,  dissuaded  them  from  executing  their  horrid 
threats.  We  were,  however,  fearful  that  murder  would  be  com- 
mitted, as  the  Spaniards  were  of  that  class  of  perpetrators  taken 
from  the  slave-ships,  and  were  permitted  to  leave  or  rather  were 
banished  from  the  English  colony. — There  was  great  danger  of 
their  raising  a mutiny,  so  that  the  captain,  supercargo  and  mate, 
were  always  on  the  watch,  having  their  arms  near  at  hand,  even 


35 


when  they  retired  to  rest.  Those  fears  rendered  our  passage  not  as 
agreeable  as  it  otherwise  would  have  been : the  officers  were  very 
obliging  at  all  times.  At  length  we  arrived  at  the  island  of  Barba- 
does,  the  windward  island  of  the  West  Indies,  on  the  10th  of  July, 
with  our  healths  somewhat  repaired.  This  island  is  situated  plea- 
santly, under  a well  regulated  government,  established  by  the  Brit- 
ish. Mrs.  Bacon  and  myself  were  just  able  to  walk  from  the  wharf 
to  the  boarding-house,  about  forty  or  fifty  yards  distance.  There 
we  remained  four  days,  after  which  we  took  passage  in  an  English 
vessel  for  Martinique,  where  we  arrived  in  about  twenty-four  hours. 
We  remained  in  Martinique  until  the  29th  of  July.  This  island 
we  found  to  be  very  sickly,  and  we  were  more  debilitated  when  we 
left  it,  than  we  were  when  we  arrived.  We  took  passage  from 
thence  in  an  American  schooner,  commanded  by  J.  Pennington,  of 
Great  Eggharbour,  and  for  about  eight  days  we  had  a delightful 
passage ; after  that  we  were  almost  becalmed,  and  at  length  a storm 
came  on,  the  wind  N.  E.  which  carried  us  into  the  Gulf  stream  ; we 
arrived  within  a short  distance  of  Cape  Lookout,  then  tacked  ship 
and  lay  to  under  a short-reefed  foresail  about  three  days,  the  greater 
part  of  the  time  in  the  gulf,  which  caused  me  to  be  very  sea-sick. 
At  length  the  storm  abated,  and  on  Monday,  the  13th  August,  we 
had  a brisk  wind,  which  wafted  us  into  Hampton  Roads,  and  on 
Tuesday  we  arrived  at  Norfolk,  in  a convalescent  state  of  health. 

Notwithstanding  our  troubles  have  been  neither  few  nor  small, 
yet  more  abundantly  has  been  the  grace  of  God  afforded  us ; there- 
fore we  give  Him  all  the  glory,  both  now  and  for  ever. 


APPENDIX. 


Ejctvact  from  JS*o.  XLII.  of  the  JS^orth  American  llevieiv  for 
January,  1824. 

IN  their  own  country,  the  negroes  are  an  inquisitive  people ; 
tliey  have  a high  respect  for  learning,  and  are  fond  of  having  their 
children  instructed. 

Wherever  they  have  been  visited  by  the  whites,  they  have  ex- 
pressed a willingness  to  have  teachers  come  among  them,  and  to 
send  their  youths  abroad  to  be  educated.  It  has  been  no  uncom- 
mon thing  for  chiefs  to  put  their  sons  under  the  care  of  captains  of 
slave  ships,  who  have  taken  them  to  the  West  Indies,  placed  them 
at  school  for  a stated  time,  and  then  sent  them  home.  Children 
from  the  neiglibourhood  of  Sierra  Leone  have  been  educated  in 
England,  and  then  returned  to  their  friends.  Sixteen  years  ago 
there  were  eight  missionaries  in  the  Susoo  country,  who  enjoyed 
the  protection  of  the  chiefs,  and  were  encouraged  by  them  to  esta- 
blish schools.  They  lived  in  tranquillity,  and  were  successful,  till 
they  undertook  to  interfere  in  matters  of  state,  suggest  changes  in 
the  government  and  laws,  and  thus,  in  the  spirit  of  the  more  shrewd 
Jesuits,  to  act  the  triple  character  of  schoolmasters,  divines,  and 
politicians.  They  were  then  dismissed  from  the  country,  though 
not  without  regret  on  the  part  of  the  chiefs,  who  were  pleased  with 
the  instructions  they  had  given.  A valuable  monument  of  their 
labours  still  exists  in  a Susoo  Grammar  and  Vocabulary,  a transla- 
tion of  a part  of  the  New  Testament,  and  several  tracts.  This  task 
was  chiefly  performed  by  Mr.  Brunton,  aided  by  a number  of  Susoo 
youths,  who  had  lived  in  England.  Among  the  Susoo  people,  whose 
language  is  spoken  over  a territory  larger  than  Great  Britain,  these 
works  are  now  to  be  found. 

The  Arabic  is  spoken  and  written  by  a few  persons  in  nearly  all 
parts  of  the  interior,  of  which  any  knowledge  has  been  obtained. 
Young  persons  are  sent  to  a great  distance  to  be  instructed  in 
Arabic  learning,  which,  after  all,  consists  in  little  else,  than  being 
able  to  read  the  Koran,  and  speak  and  write  the  language.  We 
iiave  been  made  acquainted,  from  the  best  authority,  with  one  in- 
stance, in  which  a young  man  was  sent  to  Timbuctoo  for  an  edu- 
cation of  this  sort,  from  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Pongas,  a distance  of 
lifteen  hundred  miles.  Some  of  the  more  distinguished  chiefs  cor- 
respond with  one  another  in  Arabic,  and  give  passports  to  travel- 
lers in  the  same  language.  We  have  before  us  a translation  of  an 
address,  originally  written  in  Arabic,  and  sent  three  years  ago  by 
Dakhaba,  king  of  Bambarana,  to  the  ‘ kings  and  chiefs  of  the  West,’ 
or  in  humbler  phrase,  to  the  governor  of  Sierra  Leone,  and  king 
George  of  England.  It  is  couched  in  a gorgeous  style  of  oriental 
}»3^perbole,  worthy  of  a Dey  of  Algiers,  or  a Bashaw  of  Tripoli,  and 
snows  at  least,  that  the  sense  of  regal  dignity  is  far  from  being  ex- 
tinct in  the  breasts  of  the  monarchs,  whose  dominions  spread  over 
the  sources  of  the  Niger  and  the  Gambia.  We  have  also  seen  a 


37 


specimen  of  Arabic  composition  from  the  hand  of  an  African,  now 
a slave  in  this  country,  which  was  not  only  written  with  readiness 
and  ease,  but  with  striking  elegance  of  chirography.  He  is  from 
the  interior  of  Africa,  and  was  taught  in  his  own  country. 

These  facts  prove  all  we  desire  in  the  present  connexion,  which 
is,  that  the  natives  of  Africa  are  in  some  degree  sensible  of  their 
ignorance,  and  willing  to  be  made  wiser.  Could  a more  propitious 
beginning  be  imagined,  or  a field  be  better  prepared  for  culture? 
You  have  no  obstinacy  to  conquer,  no  wild  and  restless  wanderings 
of  a thoroughly  savage  disposition  to  tame,  no  contempt  of  know- 
ledge and  the  refinement  of  civilized  life  to  soften,  no  torpid  indif- 
ference to  rouse,  no  spectres  of  a paralyzing  superstition  to  dispel. 
You  have  minds  to  deal  with  naturally  simple  and  artless,  tracta- 
ble in  temper,  docile,  ready  to  learn,  and  requiring  only  the  use  of 
judUious  means  properly  applied. 

These  positions  are  verified,  not  more  by  the  above  facts,  than 
by  the  instance  of  Sierra  Leone.  In  the  twelve  schools  of  that  co- 
lony, there  are  now  two  thousand  persons  of  different  ages,  under  the 
care  of  about  thirty  teachers.  Their  general  good  deportment,  and 
progress  in  learning,  are  represented,  by  the  committees  appointed 
to  examine  the  schools,  in  terms  the  most  flattering.  They  were 
all  recaptured  from  slave  ships.  Some  have  already  become  teach- 
ers themselves,  and  gone  out  to  instruct  the  tribes  bordering  on 
the  colony.  The  mechanic  arts,  agriculture,  the  plainer  branches 
of  manufactures,  and  whatever  gives  a spur  to  invention,  value  to 
labour,  a right  direction  to  power,  strength  to  morals,  and  refine- 
ment to  thought,  may  well  be  reckoned  among  the  elements  of  an 
African  education,  which  the  natives  are  glad  to  learn  and  capa- 
ble of  receiving. 

But  with  none  of  these  things  can  the  natives  become  acquainted, 
except  through  the  agency  of  colonization.  They  must  be  taught 
at  home,  or  not  at  all ; if  they  are  ever  to  be  raised  to  a higher  rank, 
and  to  know  the  blessings  of  civilized  life,  it  must  be  on  the  soil 
which  gave  them  birth.  And  what  should  prevent  a colony,  found- 
ed on  just  principles,  from  communicating  to  the  extent  of  its  in- 
fluence all  needed  instruction?  We  do  not  expect  the  natives  of 
Africa  will  become  at  once  adepts  in  science,  literature,  or  the 
arts ; nor  do  we  look  for  the  time,  when  they  are  to  be  statesmen, 
orators,  poets,  philosophers.  Whether  they  will  ever  shine  as  lu- 
minai  ies  in  the  world  of  mind  and  sentiment,  is  a question  w'e  are 
not  ambitious  to  solve.  W’hether  their  future  poets  will  rival  the 
ancient  bards  of  Dahorny,  w'ho  are  said  to  have  rehearsed  poems, 
which  took  up  several  days  in  the  recital,  may  be  left  to  the  spe- 
culation of  the  curious.  Even  central  Africa  boasts  of  its  antiqui- 
ty, and,  if  the  legends  tell  truth,  when  Orpheus  was  charming  the 
forests  into  life,  and  Hesiod  w as  tracing  the  genealogies  of  the  gods, 
and  weaving  nature  and  time  into  song,  and  Homer  was  singing 
the  wars  of  the  Greeks  and  the  wanderings  of  Ulysses,  then  the 
bards  of  Nigritia  were  celebrating  the  exploits  of  their  heroes,  and 
publishing  the  records  of  their  renowm  in  the  cars  of  listening  kings 


and  admiring  nations.  If  such  times  have  been,  they  are  long  gone 
by,  and  it  is  not  among  our  fond  dreams,  that  they  are  soon  to  be 
revived.  Nay,  we  are  willing  to  confess,  that  we  hope  more  from 
the  descendants  of  the  countrymen  of  Hesiod  and  Homer,  even 
under  the  cruel  rod  of  a Turkish  despotism,  and  what  is  scarcely 
less  discouraging,  the  unfeeling  neglect  of  a northern  autocracy, 
which  dreads  that  liberty  should  breathe  in  the  earth,  than  we  do 
from  the  degenerate  Dahomans,  or  their  equally  unfortunate  breth- 
ren of  other  nations,  who  have  suffered  for  ages  under  the  disci- 
pline of  the  slave  trade.  But  notwithstanding  this  concession,  we 
hold,  that  from  competent  teachers,  and  the  example  of  a well  or- 
ganized community  before  their  eyes,  they  may  learn  enough  to 
qualify  them  for  the  liappy  state  of  society,  which  consists  in  a right 
use  of  the  bounties  of  nature,  and  a proper  estimate  of  the  value  of 
labour,  industry,  and  virtue.  Nothing  more  is  hoped  or  desired 
from  the  immediate  effects  of  a colony. 

In  regard  to  religious  instruction,  no  heathens  can  be  so  easily 
initiated  into  the  principles  of  Christianity,  as  the  inhabitants  of  cen- 
tral and  western  Africa.  They  believe  for  the  most  part  in  a Su- 
preme Being,  but  their  notions  are  obscure,  without  system  or 
consistency.  They  have  no  conceptions  of  the  attributes  of  God, 
nor  do  they  ascribe  the  operations  of  nature  to  his  agency.  When 
Artus  toUf  them,  that  their  gold,  fruits,  and  flocks  were  given  them 
by  the  Deity,  they  replied,  ‘ the  earth  gives  us  gold,  the  earth  yields 
us  maize  and  rice,  the  sea  affords  us  fish,  but  if  we  do  not  labour 
ourselves,  we  may  starve  before  our  God  will  help  us.’  They  be- 
lieve in  an  evil  and  good  principle,  existing  in  distinct  forms,  each 
of  which  has  power  over  them ; and  they  are  also  strongly  affected 
by  charms,  termed  fetiches  on  the  coast,  and  Obi  in  the  West  In- 
dies. It  matters  not  of  what  material  the  charm  is  made ; when 
once  consecrated  in  the  imagination  of  the  person  whose  reverence 
it  commands,  it  is  supposed  to  have  a power  little  inferior  to  that 
of  the  Deity,  and  to  hold  in  its  mysterious  virtues  the  destiny  of 
mortals. 

Such  a religion  has  too  few  points  of  consistency  to  acquire  any 
strength  by  age  ; its  principles  are  too  vague  to  gain  a permanent 
entrance  into  the  mind  ; it  has  nothing  to  engage  the  fancy  or  cap- 
tivate the  understanding.  It  is  not  like  the  magnificent  fabric  of 
Chinese  theology,  made  sacred  by  the  venerated  names  of  ancient 
statesmen  and  sages,  standing  as  the  firmest  pillar  of  the  empire, 
and  secured  from  innovation  by  the  impermeable  panoply  of  a lan- 
guage, which  to  change  would  be  to  destroy.  Nor  is  it  like  the 
more  philosophical,  and  perhaps  more  ancient  system  of  the  Hin- 
doos, rendered  imposing  by  its  thousand  volumes  of  commentaries, 
and  perpetuated  by  an  unceasing,  overgrown  priesthood.  Nor  is 
it  like  the  monstrous  folly  of  the  Tartars,  where  the  wretched  idea 
of  a Grand  Lama  has  driven  common  sense  from  the  minds  of  mil- 
lions, and  united  them  in  an  unconquerable  system  of  visionary  ab- 
surdity. In  short,  the  world  does  not  contain  an  uncivilized  peo- 
ple, more  free  from  the  bias  of  lieathenism,  than  the  negroes. 


39 


The  task  of  plucking  out  errors,  and  eradicating  deep  rooted 
superstitions,  which  is  so  formidable  in  most  cases,  is  one  of  little 
difficulty  with  them.  The  soil  is  already  prepared  for  the  seed  ; 
and  this  only  requires  to  be  scattered  with  a careful  hand,  and  nur- 
tured with  gentleness  and  skill.  The  Mahometans  have  had  good 
success,  and  many  persons  in  the  central  parts  of  Africa  have  been 
brought  over  to  their  faith.  What  then  may  we  not  expect  from 
the  simple  and  engaging  truths  of  Christianity  ? Shall  we  say,  that 
the  sublime  doctrines  of  Jesus,  and  the  holy  precepts  of  his  religion, 
have  less  power  to  convert  the  heathen,  than  the  profane  vagaries 
of  the  Arabian  impostor  ; or  that  the  rude  followers  of  the  latter 
have  more  zeal,  than  the  humble  disciples  of  the  former  ? What 
Christian  will  listen  to  so  ungracious  an  imputation  ? The  infer- 
ence must  be  allowed,  then,  both  from  a view  of  the  religion  of  the 
negroes,  and  the  success  of  Mahometanism  among  them,  that  they 
are  better  prepared,  than  any  other  barbarous  people,  to  receive  re- 
ligious instruction  and  adopt  new  principles  of  faith.  Thus  may  a 
colony  be  accessary  to  the  advancement  of  religious  truth,  w^hich 
could  come  from  no  other  quarter,  as  well  as  to  the  civil  improve- 
ment, temporal  interests,  and  social  happiness  of  the  people  among 
whom  it  is  stationed. 

Having  now  closed  what  we  proposed  to  say  on  the  advantages 
of  colonization  to  this  country  and  Africa,  we  proceed  to  a few  hints 
on  its  practicability. 

The  objection,  which  has  been  urged  with  considerable  empha- 
sis against  the  Colonization  Society,  that  the  scheme  of  forming  a 
colony  in  Africa  is  impracticable,  we  think  sufficiently  answered 
by  the  fact,  that  numerous  colonies  have  been  settled  there,  some 
of  which  are  now  of  long  standing.  The  Portuguese,  the  French, 
the  Danes,  and  the  English,  have  establishments  scattered  along 
the  coast  from  Cape  Verde  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  which  must 
no  doubt  be  profitable  to  those  governments,  or  they  would  not  have 
been  maintained  till  the  present  time.  More  than  a century  ago 
the  French  established  a post  on  the  Senegal,  upwards  of  four  hun- 
dred miles  from  its  mouth  ; at  Congo  the  Portuguese  have  grow  n 
into  a numerous  colony  ; and  at  the  southern  extremity  of  Africa, 
the  Dutch  and  English  together  have  spread  over  a country  larger 
than  the  southern  peninsula  of  Europe.  As  it  is  not,  therefore,  a 
question  to  be  soberly  discussed,  whether  it  is  possible  for  America 
to  do  what  half  a dozen  other  nations  have  done,  the  notion  that 
colonization  is  impracticable  hardly  deserves  to  be  considered. 

We  may  here  revert  again  to  Sierra  Leone,  as  affording  an  in- 
stance more  directly  in  point  for  our  present  purpose,  because  it  was 
founded  on  principles  nearly  allied  to  those  of  the  Colonization 
Society.  It  was  started  by  a private  company,  and  the  original  set- 
tlers were  taken  from  abroad.  At  the  close  of  the  American  revo- 
lution many  negroes,  who  had  left  their  masters  during  the  war, 
and  gone  over  to  the  British  standard,  were  dispersed  in  the  Baha- 
ma Islands  and  Nova  Scotia,  where  the  white  loyalists  took  refuge. 
Some  found  their  w'ay  to  London.  Four  hundred  of  these  w'ere 


40 


slnppeil  by  tlieir  own  consent  to  Sierra  Leone  in  1787.  The  black 
settlers  in  Nova  Scotia  became  dissatisfied  with  the  rigorous  treat- 
ment they  received,  and  complained  to  the  British  ministry.  Emi- 
gration was  thought  the  only  remedy,  and  twelve  hundred  accepted 
the  invitation  to  be  transported  at  the  expense  of  the  government 
to  Sierra  Leone,  where  they  arrived  five  years  after  those  from  Lon- 
don. It  thus  appears,  that  the  colony  at  Sierra  Leone  was  first 
settled  by  negroes,  who  had  been  slaves  in  this  country,  habituated 
to  the  same  climate,  and  possessing  the  same  character,  as  the  per- 
sons with  whom  it  is  contemplated  to  supply  the  new  American 
colony.  The  Maroons  from  Jamaica  did  not  arrive  till  1805.  The 
land  was  obtained  by  purchase  of  the  natives. 

For  some  time  the  colony  proceeded  but  slowly  ; it  was  attacked 
by  the  French  ; the  natives  were  hostile  ; sickness  made  its  rava- 
ges ; want  and  fatigue  caused  despondency.  But  these  difficulties 
were  conquered  in  due  time  ; the  lands  were  cleared  ; villages  are 
now  rising  up,  churches  and  schools  are  multiplying,  agriculture 
has  become  a settled  occupation,  and  society  has  assumed  a shape 
denoting  the  regularity  and  happiness  of  civilized  life.  The  Sierra 
Leone  Colony  now  consists  of  twelve  thousand  inhabitants,  nearly 
tm  thousand  of  whom  are  recaptured  Africans,  thus  rescued  from 
an  inhuman  bondage,  which  would  otherwise  have  been  entailed  on 
them  and  their  posterity  forever.  Why  shall  not  the  colony  at 
Mesurado  accomplish  as  much  in  the  same  time  ? And  should  it 
promise  no  more,  who  will  refuse  to  give  his  heart  and  his  hands  to 
a work,  which  may  save  ten  thousand  of  his  fellow  beings  from 
slavery  and  wretchedness  ? 

It  has  been  a good  deal  insisted  on,  as  a proof  of  the  impracti- 
cability of  colonization,  that  emigrants  could  not  be  induced  to 
embark.  Experience  has  shown  the  futility  of  this  objection.  Vo- 
lunteers have  ever  been  ready  in  greater  numbers,  than  the  Society 
could  receive,  and  at  this  time  the  names  of  more  persons  are  on 
the  list  of  application,  than  it  would  be  prudent  to  send  at  once. 
They  should  not  be  suffered  to  go  out  faster  than  they  can  be  well 
provided  for,  and  we  presume  that  two  or  three  hundred  a year 
would  be  quite  as  many  as  could  find  comfortable  quarters  in  a 
new  colony.  The  ratio  of  capacity  for  receiving  others  will  of 
course  increase  very  rapidly;  it  will  be  in  proportion  to  the  surplus 
of  labour  among  the  resident  colonists,  over  what  is  necessary  to 
supply  their  immediate  wants.  The  avails  of  the  rest  can  be  ap- 
propriated to  the  use  of  new  adventurers,  in  supplying  them  with 
food,  houses,  and  other  requisites  of  life.  On  this  principle  the 
time  will  come,  in  the  natural  progress  of  things,  when  there  will 
be  ability  to  provide  for  emigrants  in  Africa,  as  fast  as  the  condi- 
tion of  the  blacks,  and  the  established  order  of  society,  will  permit 
them  to  depart  from  this  country.  The  early  disasters  at  Sierra 
Leone  were  owing  in  a great  measure  to  the  numbers  landed  at 
once,  without  comfortable  dwellings,  clothes,  provisions,  and  good 
attendance  in  sickness.  Our  own  colony  has  experienced  similar 
calamities  from  the  same  causes. 


41 


Again,  it  has  been  said,  that  the  expense  of  transportation  is  so 
great,  as  to  prevent  its  being  carried  to  any  available  extent.  This 
objection  is  founded  on  a false  estimate  of  facts,  as  any  one  may 
be  convinced,  who  will  thoroughly  examine  the  subject.  The  So- 
ciety has  sent  out  emigrants  at  fifty  dollars  a piece,  and  it  might 
be  done  much  lowfer,  if  the  business  were  prosecuted  on  a large 
scale.  Many  coloured  persons  have  property  more  than  sufficient 
to  pay  their  own  passage,  and  laws  might  be  passed  to  cause  others 
to  save  their  earnings,  till  they  amounted  to  enough  for  their  pas- 
sage money.  Besides,  what  should  prevent  some  of  our  public 
vessels  being  employed  in  this  work,  and  at  an  expense  very  little 
exceeding  that,  which  is  now  required  to  keep  them  in  service? 
And  last  of  all,  why  should  not  a portion  of  the  national  revenue 
be  appropriated  to  an  object,  which  so  vitally  aff'ects  the  rising  in- 
terests of  our  confederacy? 

Let  it  be  our  pride  to  follow,  as  far  as  the  genius  of  our  institu- 
tions will  permit,  the  liberal  and  high  minded  example  of  a younger 
republic.  The  Government  of  Colombia  has  not  only  decreed, 
that  * all,  of  whatever  colour,  are  entitled  to  the  same  privileges  as 
white  men,'  but  has  enacted  a statute  for  the  gradual  abolition  of 
slavery  within  its  own  territory,  by  establishing  a manumission 
fund,  arising  out  of  a tax  on  a portion  of  the  property  left  by  per- 
sons at  their  death.  Why  may  not  our  Congress  so  fai  walk  in  the 
steps  of  the  generous  friends  of  humanity  in  Colombia,  as  to  appro- 
priate a reasonable  amount  to  relieve  the  country  from  the  nuisance 
and  terror  of  the  free  black  population?  Or,  should  the  argument 
from  humanity  and  this  example  be  thought  of  little  w^eight,  why 
should  not  such  a measure  be  prompted  by  a regard  for  the  deepest 
concerns  and  supreme  welfare  of  the  nation? 

The  unhealthiness  of  the  climate  is  another  objection,  usually 
advanced  against  the  practicability  of  a settlement  in  Africa.  In 
respect  to  this,  we  beg  permission  again  to  refer  to  the  European 
colonies,  which  have  been  so  long  in  operation.  That  the  coast  of 
western  Africa  is  unhealthy  to  northern  constitutions,  is  not  de- 
nied ; but  no  proof  has  been  exhibited,  that  it  is  more  so  than  other 
tropical  climates,  or  even  the  alluvial  districts  of  the  United  States, 
liCt  a colony  from  the  northern  and  middle  states  be  transported 
to  the  low  and  fertile  parts  of  the  Carolinas,  or  to  the  banks  of  the 
Mississippi,  in  the  warm  season,  and  the  mortality  would  be  much 
greater,  than  has  been  known  in  Africa,  even  in  the  midst  of  the 
fatal  rains.  By  Meredith,  Wadstrom,  Dr.  Lind,  and  others,  who 
have  had  an  opportunity  of  being  informed,  it  is  stated  with  confi- 
dence, that  the  country  about  Sierra  Leone  is  equal  in  salubrity  to 
the  most  healthy  of  the  West  India  Islands.  The  mortality  of  the 
colonists  in  Africa  has  not  been  more  alarming,  than  it  was  among 
the  original  settlers  of  New  England,  and  other  parts  of  America. 
The  unusual  sickness  of  the  first  emigrants  to  Sierra  Leone,  and 
of  those  gone  from  this  country,  depended  on  incidental  causes, 
many  of  which  have  no  necessary  connexion  with  the  climate,  and 
which  will  never  occur  to  the  same  degree,  when  the  forests  shall 


42 


be  cleared,  the  miasmata  of  decayed  vegetation  removed,  and  the 
people  supplied  with  comfm'table  habitations,  and  wholesome  food. 
On  the  whole,  there  seems  no  reason  to  suppose  western  Africa 
more  unhealthy,  than  other  parts  of  the  world,  to  which  people  have 
emigrated  for  centuries,  and  where  they  have  built  cities,  establish- 
ed governments,  and  grown  into  empires. 

The  local  situation  selected  for  our  present  colony,  enjoys  many 
positive  advantages.  In  speaking  of  the  tracts  of  country  around 
Cape  Monte  and  Cape  Mesurado,  Dr.  Leyden  says,  ‘These  dis- 
tricts have  been  described  by  Des  Marchais,  Villault,  Philips, 
Atkins,  Bosnian,  and  Smith,  as  pleasant,  salubrious,  and  fertile.’ 
Again  he  adds,  ‘ Cape  Mesurado  is  a detached  mountain,  steep  and 
elevated  towards  the  sea,  with  a gentle  declivity  on  the  land  side. 
The  adjacent  country  is  extremely  fertile,  producing  sugar  cane, 
indigo,  and  cotton,  without  cultivation.’ 

No  man  is  better  acquainted  with  the  coast  of  Africa,  probably, 
than  Sir  George  R.  Collier,  who  has  been  the  chief  commander  of 
the  British  squadron  stationed  there  for  three  or  four  years.  In 
his  Second  Report  to  the  British  government,  respecting  the  set- 
tlements in  Africa,  he  thus  alludes  to  the  attempt  to  form  a colony 
at  Sherbro.  ‘ Had  America,’  he  observes,  ‘ who,  excepting  Great 
Britain,  appears  more  in  earnest  than  any  other  nation,  established 
her  lately  attempted  settlement  at  Cape  Mesurado,  or  even  at  Cape 
Monte,  she  would  at  least  have  secured  a more  healthful,  and  by 
far  a more  convenient  spot,  tlian  her  late  ill  chosen  one  in  the  Sher- 
bro. And  an  establishment  by  America,  either  at  Cape  Monte,  or 
Cape  Mesurado,  would  have  afforded  to  the  friends  of  humanity 
the  most  rational  hopes,  that  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of 
the  American  colony,  the  demand  for  slaves  would  have  been 
checked,  and  thus  a settlement  would  have  been  formed,  useful  to 
the  purposes  of  civilization;  and  from  its  actual,  though  distant 
intercourse  with  the  frontiers  of  Gaman  and  Ashantee,  have  open- 
ed the  line  of  lucrative  speculation  to  the  American  merchant,  and 
with  the  additional  advantage  of  doing  so  without  interfering  in 
any  way  with  the  prosperity  of  the  British  colony  of  Sierra  Leone.’ 
These  remarks  are  of  more  practical  value,  than  volumes  of  specu- 
lations penned  in  this  country,  founded  on  conjecture,  or  deduced 
from  abstract  principles.  They  are  from  a person  who  enjoyed 
the  best  opportunities  for  observation,  repeatedly  traversed  the 
coast,  and  whose  business  it  was  to  supply  his  government  with 
accurate  knowledge.  On  this  testimony,  connected  with  that  of 
our  own  agents,  we  are  willing  to  rest,  and  are  satisfied  with  the 
conviction,  that  Mesurado  affords  all  the  requisite  facilities  for 
building  up  an  establishment,  w'hich  ought  to  receive  the  cordial 
support  of  every  friend  of  his  species,  every  lover  of  right  and 
freedom,  and  every  sincere  patriot  in  this  country. 

The  formidable  encroachment,  which  the  present  article  has  al- 
ready made  on  our  accustomed  limits,  compels  us  to  desist  from 
several  remarks  intended  for  this  part  of  the  subject.  We  trust, 
that  from  what  has  been  said,  our  readers  will  be  enabled  to  arrive 


43 


at  a just  understanding  of  the  history  and  objects  of  the  Coloniza- 
tion Society,  the  practicability  of  these  objects,  and  the  methods 
by  which  they  may  be  attained.  Much  more  might  be  added  to 
illustrate  this  last  topic,  both  in  regard  to  the  local  circumstances 
of  the  colony  at  Mesurado,  and  to  the  means  employed  at  home  to 
supply  it  with  emigrants;  but  the  view  we  have  taken  is  enough, 
we  think,  to  justify  us  in  the  belief,  that  the  plan  in  its  outlines  is 
well  conceived,  and  wants  only  the  vigorous  co-operation  of  the 
public  to  make  it  entirely  successful. 

We  should  be  glad,  also,  if  we  had  room,  to  press  a few  of  the 
reasons,  why  the  particular  attention  of  our  national  legislature  is 
demanded  to  this  colony,  and  to  urge  the  importance  of  its  being 
taken  wholly  under  the  charge  and  jurisdiction  of  the  government. 
In  regard  to  what  is  called  the  constitutional  question,  whether  the 
United  States  have  power  to  establish  such  a colony,  we  know  not 
in  what  it  differs  from  the  question,  whether  they  have  power  to 
put  their  own  laws  in  execution,  or  take  the  only  efficient  measures 
to  suppress  an  evil,  whose  contagion  is  daily  spreading,  and  which 
threatens  a more  serious  calamity  than  any  other  to  our  national 
prosperity,  if  not  to  our  political  being.  It  would  be  strange,  in- 
deed, if  it  should  be  made  plain  to  our  legislators,  that  the  consti- 
tution stops  their  ears  to  the  cries  of  humanity,  ties  their  hands 
from  the  work  of  benevolence,  and  compels  them  to  nurture  the 
seeds  and  foster  the  growth  of  our  own  destruction.  And  it  comes 
to  this,  if  they  have  not  power  to  establish  a colony  abroad  to  re- 
ceive the  free  blacks ; for  we  hold  it  to  be  a position,  as  firmly 
grounded  as  any  law  in  nature  or  society,  that  our  black  population 
can  never  be  drawn  off*,  except  through  the  medium  of  such  an  es- 
tablishment. Let  us  denominate  our  colony  a Territory,  if  we  will, 
and  then  it  will  not  differ  from  our  other  Territories,  except  in 
being  separated  from  the  confederated  states  by  an  ocean,  instead 
of  a river,  or  lake.  A voyage  from  Washington  to  Mesurado  can 
be  performed  as  quick  as  to  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  or  the  Saut 
of  »St.  Mary,  and  much  quicker  than  to  the  Mandan  Villages. 

The  expediency  of  such  a territory  is  to  be  settled,  perhaps,  on 
other  principles, but  it  would  hardly  seem  possible  for  a division  to 
exist  on  this  point.  The  advantages  to  this  country  of  a colony  in 
Africa,  under  the  patronage  of  the  government,  are  not  to  be  cal- 
culated; and  it  needs  not  be  reckoned  among  its  least  recommen- 
dations, that  it  would  hold  out  the  prospect  of  removing,  in  a good 
degree,  the  causes  of  the  present  differences  between  the  govern- 
ments of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  concerning  mixed 
commission  courts,  and  the  mutual  privilege  of  search  on  the  coast 
of  Africa.  It  may  be  added,  moreover,  that  should  the  colony  be 
taken  into  the  hands  of  the  government,  it  will  enable  Virginia  to 
pursue  her  long  meditated  plan  of  providing  for  the  colonization 
of  her  free  blacks.  It  is  but  reasonable  to  suppose,  also,  that  other 
states  would  follow  the  example,  especially  those,  which  have  al- 
ready, by  a vote  of  their  legislatures,  approved  the  scheme  of  the 
Colonization  Society.  They  might  act  with  a confidence  and  secu- 


ritj,  which  they  cannot  feel  in  a private  body,  however  strong  in  its 
numbers,  or  fortunate  in  its  operations. 

But  we  do  not  mean  to  encourage  the  Society  in  any  relaxation  of 
duty,  by  thus  proposing  to  take  away  its  most  oppressive  burden. 
We  would  excuse  it  from  the  troublesome,  if  not  impracticable  task 
of  controlling  and  governing  the  colony,  but  we  would  have  all  its 
energy,  its  zeal,  and  its  resources  employed  in  carrying  forward 
the  grand  object.  This  can  be  done  in  a more  efficient  manner,  by 
acting  in  concert  with  the  government ; every  weight  thrown  into 
the  scale  will  then  be  felt  in  its  full  force. 

The  Society  may  watch  over  the  execution  of  the  laws,  keep  an 
eye  on  abuses,  and  communicate  to  the  government  valuable  intel- 
ligence, which  it  would  not  derive  from  any  other  source.  In  the 
year  1807,  shortly  after  the  abolition  act  was  passed  in  England, 
the  African  Institution  was  formed,  with  the  avowed  object  of  af- 
fording all  possible  aids  to  the  full  operation  of  that  act.  To  this 
end  it  has  been  of  essential  service,  by  taking  cognizance  of  events, 
disseminating  a knowledge  of  African  alFairs,  and  occasionally  pre- 
senting memorials  to  Parliament,  or  addresses  to  the  Ring,  calling 
their  attention  to  particular  subjects,  which  the  inquiries  and  expe- 
rience of  the  Institution  proved  to  them  demanded  additional  legis- 
lation, or  more  vigorous  executive  measures.  The  Annual  Reports 
of  the  Institution  have  sent  out  a fund  of  information,  which  has 
equally  enlightened  the  public  mind,  and  given  a tone  to  public 
sentiment.  The  attention  of  the  Colonization  Society  may  be  pro- 
fitably turned  into  similar  channels. 

Another  object,  which  may  prove  beneficial  to  the  plan  of  colo- 
nization, is  that  of  promoting  travels  and  discoveries  in  the  interior 
of  Africa.  Thirty-six  years  ago  the  African  Association  was  or- 
ganized in  London  for  this  purpose,  and  almost  all  the  knowledge 
of  interior  Africa,  which  has  since  come  to  light,  has  been  derived 
through  the  agency  of  this  Association.  Our  enterprising  country- 
man, John  Ledyard,  was  the  first  person  employed  in  its  service. 
He  embarked  in  the  undertaking  with  an  enthusiasm  and  perse- 
verance peculiar  to  himself  alone,  and  which  "had  previously  car- 
ried him  through  many  perils  and  sufihrings  to  every  quarter  of  the 
globe;  but  he  found  an  untimely  grave  in  Egypt,  when  he  was  on 
the  point  of  starting  in  a caravan  for  Nubia.  The  interesting  and 
valuable  discoveries  of  Hornemann  and  Park  were  made  under  the 
authority  of  the  same  Association.  Let  our  Society  send  persons 
to  explore  the  Mesurado  river,  or  to  engage  in  any  other  expedi- 
tions of  discovery,  from  which  the  colony  can  be  benefited,  or  tlie 
cause  of  African  civilization  advanced. 

Schools  ought  also  to  be  established,  both  in  this  country  and  in 
Africa,  for  the  instruction  of  free  persons  of  colour,  recaptured  ne- 
groes, and  natives.  It  is  desirable,  that  there  should  be  at  least 
one  institution  in  the  United  States,  designed  exclusively  for  an 
African  education,  where  youths  may  be  taught  with  the  express 
view  of  going  to  Africa,  and  where  young  natives,  whom  their  pa- 
rents may  suffer  to  come  away,  shall  be  looked  after  and  educated. 


45 


The  auxiliary  societies,  scattered  over  the  country,  will  be  enabled 
to  select  the  best  subjects  for  such  a school  from  among  the  fami- 
lies of  those,  who  may  be  inclined  to  emigrate,  and  eaA  auxiliary 
society  may  engage  to  support  such  persons  as  it  shall  send. 

To  the  common  elementary  branches  of  knowledge,  might  be 
added  the  history  and  geography  of  Africa,  the  laws  and  customs 
of  the  people,  accounts  of  the  climate,  soil,  and  trade,  and  whatever 
else  should  qualify  the  pupil  for  entering  on  his  new  sphere  to  the 
best  advantage  to  himself  and  the  community,  in  the  capacity  in 
which  he  shall  be  destined  to  act.  Schools  of  the  same  kind  may 
be  set  up  in  the  colony,  with  a course  of  instruction  adapted  to 
circumstances.  The  humbler  and  more  useful  arts  of  life  may  be 
taught  to  the  natives,  who  may  be  induced  to  attend  the  schools. 
The  most  promising  of  the  colonists  may  learn  some  of  the  lan- 
guages of  the  interior,  which  shall  fit  them  for  greater  influence 
and  usefulness.  Religious  instruction  may  be  inculcated,  churches 
built,  and  preachers  supported.  In  short,  the  Colonization  Society 
will  never  want  employment  for  its  means  and  strength,  nor  meet 
with  any  obstructions  to  the  fullest  exercise  of  its  benevolence  and 
activity,  although  it  shall  relinquish  the  arduous  and  embarrassing 
task  of  holding  supreme  direction  over  the  colony. 

While  writing  the  above,  w'e  have  been  gratified  to  see  accounts 
of  new  auxiliary  societies  springing  up  in  difterent  parts  of  the 
country,  and  especially  one  at  Richmond,  Virginia,  with  the  vene- 
rable Chief  Justice  Marshall  at  its  head.  The  sanction  of  such  a 
name  may  well  confirm  the  confidence  of  the  steady  advocates  for 
colonization,  and  communicate  a quickening  power  to  the  tardy 
zeal  of  the  wavering.  When,  in  addition  to  this,  we  reflect  on  the 
unqualified  approbation  with  which  the  present  Chief  Magistrate 
of  the  nation,  has  uniformly  regarded  the  designs  of  the  Coloniza- 
tion Society,  the  number  of  distinguished  persons  found  among  its 
active  patrons,  and  the  progress  it  has  made  under  an  accumula- 
tion of  discouraging  circumstances,  we  can  hardly  desire  a stronger 
testimony  to  the  importance  of  its  objects,  or  a more  auspicious 
presage  of  its  ultimate  success. 


Extract  from  the  First  Report  of  the  J\*ew  Fork  Colonization 

Society. 

PRESENT  STATE  OF  THE  COT.ONY. 

Formal  possession  of  Cape  Montserado  was  taken  on  the  25th  of 
April,  1822,  when  the  American  flag  was  hoisted.  The  name  Li- 
beria is  given  to  the  region  purchased  of  the  natives,  and  Monrovia 
to  the  town  then  commenced.  The  plan  of  the  town  is,  to  build  on 
one  principal  street,  on  which  each  settler  has  a house  and  lot,  and 
in  addition,  is  furnished  with  a plantation  out  of  town.  These,  if 
he  improves  them  industriously  two  years,  becomes  his  and  his 
heirs  for  ever.  At  the  head  of  this  street,  in  a commanding  posi- 


46 


lion,  stands  the  fort,  a strongly  built  stone  and  mortar  fortification  ; 
its  foundations  laid  several  feet  below  the  surface.  The  colonists 
are  now  engaged  in  building,  and  clearing  the  land.  The  following 
extracts  will  show  the  present  state  and  prospects  of  the  colony. 
The  first  is  from  a letter  to  a reverend  gentleman  in  Baltimore, 
dated  June  20,  1823,  written  by  Mr.  Ashmun,  the  United  States’ 
agent  to  take  charge  of  liberated  Africans. 

“ I perceive  that  the  Baltimore  benevolence  has  imposed  on  the 
colonists  another  debt  of  gratitude.  Heaven  reward  the  ‘ unwea- 
ried well-doing’  which  has  characterized  so  many,  especially  of 
the  pious  ladies  of  that  city.  Please  to  remember  me  most  cordi- 
ally to  such  as  I have  the  happiness  to  know.  By  such  exertions, 
aided  by  the  prayers  which  I believe  accompanied  them,  has  the 
colony  at  length  obtained  a firm  footing.  An  asylum  is  prepared 
for  the  degraded  sons  of  Africa.  An  opening  is  made  for  the  ef- 
fectual introduction  of  the  Gospel  among  the  native  tribes.  A prin- 
cipal objection  to  the  emancipation  of  slaves  in  America  is  obvi- 
ated. The  annihilation  of  the  slave  trade  along  an  extensive  line 
of  coast,  ever  famous  for  this  guilty  traffic,  is  secured — and  what- 
ever benefits  are  destined  to  result  from  the  colonization  of  Africa, 
may  be  referred  to  the  liberality  of  Baltimore  more  than  to  any 
other  town  or  district  in  the  United  States,  ‘Laus  tibi  Domino.’ 
But  it  is  a pleasure  and  a duty  to  recognise  the  instruments  by 
which  he  worked.  Much  of  the  labour  of  the  colonists  has  been 
expended  on  works  of  defence  : they  are  now  nearly  completed, 
and  agriculture  will,  in  future,  engross  the  industry  of  the  people. 
The  rainy  season  commenced  about  the  20th  of  May ; but  the 
heaviest  rains  are  yet  behind.  Why,  my  dear  sir,  are  not  mission- 
aries sent } I can  only  assure  you,  in  one  word,  that  a better  open- 
ing exists  not  in  the  world,  and  wffiere  they  be  more  needed.” 

Extracts  from  Mr,  Ashmun'^s  letter  y dated  MonroviayJuly  21, 1823. 

" You  will  expect  but  a brief  communication  from  us  by  this  con- 
veyance, the  Oswego  not  having  sailed  twm  wrecks  when  the  packet 
arrived.  Since  her  departure  we  have  only  built  a few  houses — 
enclosed  and  planted  a few  lots — finished  a commodious  store-room 
to  receive  the  goods  sent  out  per  the  Fidelity,  by  the  African  com- 
pany. 

“Five  additional  emigrants,  including  one  lad  of  12, also  arrived 
by  the  packet.  The  schooner  is  now  nearly  unloaded,  without  any 
serious  accident,  and  will  sail  in  a very  short  time.  I am  sorry  to 
state,  that  Captain  Thornton,  and  some  of  the  crew,  had  been 
slightly  touched  with  the  fever.  The  establishment  of  the  packet 
line  will  be  the  making  of  the  colony.  By  the  return  of  the  packet, 
several  of  the  settlers  go  home  for.  their  families  and  property.  All 
pay  their  passage,  and  leave  bonds  for  reimbursing  the  expenses 
already  incurred  by  the  society  on  their  account.  One  of  these,  a 
Mr.  Waring,  from  Petersburg,  with  12,000  dollars,  will  call  on  you 


47 


in  Washington.  It  is  his  intention  to  fit  out  a vessel  with  colo- 
nists from  Petersburg. 

“ I have  determined  to  let  no  opportunity  pass  without  humbly 
but  earnestly  representing  to  the  Board,  and  every  influential  cor- 
respondent 1 have  in  America,  the  spiritual  and  moral  necessities 
of  your  colonists.  A missionary,  and  two  schoolmasters,  with  a fe- 
male teacher,  are  needed  beyond  measure.  They  ought,  certainly, 
all  to  be  white.  The  survivors  are,  to  an  individual,  nearly  reco- 
vered. You  will  be  sorry  to  hear  of  the  death  of  Abel  Herd,  the 
Asiatic  traveller.  He  scarcely  commenced  his  career  of  observa- 
tion, before  he  imbibed  the  seeds  of  a mortal  fever,  which  carried 
him  oft*  in  eight  days.  He  had  imprudently  dieted  himself  to  an 
invalid  on  the  passage.  His  impatience  to  begin  his  observations 
could  not  be  restrained.  As  soon  as  he  could  fit  himself  out,  his 
zeal  carried  him,  contrary  to  the  injunctions  of  Dr.  Ayres  and  my 
own  remonstrances,  into  the  interior.  He  spent  five  days  in  ex- 
ploring the  St.  Paul’s — wet  by  night  and  day,  and  breathing  nothing 
but  an  atmosphere  tainted  with  the  effluvia  of  mangrove  mud.  He 
became  sick,  and  had  not  a particle  of  animal  vigour  to  resist  the  at- 
tack. He  returned  to  the  colony,  reported  his  observations,  and  in 
two  days  expired.  Had  he  lived,  and  succeeded  according  to  his 
plan,  a most  valuable  addition  of  African  geography  would  have 
been  given  to  the  world. 

“The  rains  set  in  about  the  13th  of  May.  They  have  not  yet 
proved  very  severe  ; but  we  are  seldom  a night  or  day  without  a 
considerable  fall  of  w'ater. 

“ Barracks,  or  a range  of  houses  built  and  covered  partly  in  the 
native  style,  are  nearly  completed  for  our  liberated  captives.  The 
poor  fellows  have  hardly  had  justice  done  them  hitherto.  It  is 
proposed  to  place  over  them  the  Rev.  Lot  Cary,  to  keep  them  much 
to  themselves,  and  let  them  cultivate  land  enough  to  employ  a good 
share  of  their  leisure.  In  a short  time  they  will,  I believe,  not  only 
support  themselves,  but  always  have  on  hand  a provision  for  the 
subsistence  of  future  shipments  of  the  same  class. 

“ Our  last  accounts  from  America  filled  us,'with  hope  in  relation 
to  the  future  prospects  of  the  society  at  home.  There  were  evi- 
dent symptoms  in  the  disposition  of  the  American  public  to  rub 
open  their  eyes  on  the  subject.  They  will,  I believe,  sir,  come  on 
as  fast  as  perhaps  the  good  of  the  colony  shall  require.  It  is  not 
desirable,  at  present,  that  more  than  three  or  four  shipments  of 
sixty  persons  be  made  in  the  year.  Let  one  hundred  families  be 
well  settled,  with  a good  house  and  perfectly  improved  lot  to  each, 
in  town,  and  a plantation  without,  well  cultivated.  Let  a hospital, 
warehouse,  and  temporary  receptacle  for  new  comecs,  be  prepared 
— and  the  wheels  of  the  machine,  its  schools,  courts,  &c.  get  a good 
momentum  on  them,  in  a proper  direction,  and,  sir,  you  may  throw 
in  new  settlers  as  fast  as  your  funds  will  possibly  admit.  If  we 
live  to  witness  the  progress  of  things  here  two  years  hence,  I be- 
lieve all  this  and  more  will  be  realized.  The  last  Saturday  in  every 
month  is  court-day.  One  has  occurred,  and  we  have  had  one  trial 


48 


by  jury.  It  was  conducted  with  great  propriety,  and  the  verdict 
strictly  according  to  evidence.  It  was  a criminal  prosecution.  For 
the  particulars  see  the  journal.” 


From  the  A'*ational  Intelligencer. 

Of  THE  African  Colony. — The  subjoined  extract  is  part  of  a 
letter  from  Rev.  Colston  M.  Waring,  a coloured  preacher  of  great 
respectability,  from  Petersburg,  in  Virginia,  who  recently  took 
passage  to  Cape  Montserado  in  the  Oswego,  and  returned  in  the 
Fidelity.  This  man,  we  are  informed,  was  recommended  to  the 
Colonization  Society  as  a person  of  tried  worth  and  piety,  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Rice,  of  Richmond,  and  is  spoken  of  in  the  highest  terms 
by  Dr.  Ayres,  in  his  recent  communications.  We  may,  therefore, 
depend  upon  his  testimony.  He  is  a man  of  considerable  proper- 
ty; has  a family;  has  been  to  Africa  in  a sickly  season  ; and  is 
now  ready  to  venture  all,  and  to  persuade  others  to  do  the  same, 
on  the  success  of  the  enterprise  in  which  the  Colonization  Society 
are  engaged. 

“ When  I left  the  United  States,  I promised  to  write  you  from 
Africa;  but,  by  the  sudden  sailing  of  the  Oswego,  and  my  being 
sick  at  the  time  of  the  sailing,  I was  unwillingly  deprived  of  that 
pleasure.  As  I have  now  arrived  in  my  native  land,  I consider  it 
my  indispensable  duty  to  give  you  my  views  of  the  land  of  my  an- 
cestors. 

“ Instead  of  finding  Africa  a sandy  and  barren  waste,  I found 
the  whole  country  clothed  with  verdure,  and  stocked  with  forest 
trees  of  large  growth.  1 saw  cattle,  sheep,  goats,  hogs,  poultry,  and 
fruit,  in  abundance.  In  fine,  I can  truly  say,  I think  Africa  as 
healthy,  as  productive,  and  as  beautiful  a country,  as  any  in  the 
world.  I found  all  the  people  in  good  health,  and  apparently  hap- 
py. Mr.  Williams  returned  with  me,  and  I cannot  express  the 
effect  our  arrival  has  produced  on  the  minds  of  the  people.  All 
seem  in  favour  of  the  scheme.  The  coloured  people  are  fired  with 
zeal  in  the  cause.  Last  Monday  evening  upwards  of  one  hundred 
gave  in  their  names  for  the  next  expedition.  It  is. all  important  to 
know  when  a vessel  will  sail,  and  whether  that  vessel  will  touch 
at  this  place  for  emigrants.  I am  anxious  to  know,  myself,  as  I 
shall  immediately  close  my  affairs,  and  take  my  family  with  me. 
I shall  go  to  Richmond,  in  a few  days,  to  satisfy  the  minds  of  the 
people,  and  ascertain  the  number  disposed  to  emigrate.” 

Such  are  the  present  prospects  of  the  colony.  It  is  established, 
flourishing,  and  in  peace  with  the  surrounding  tribes.  Many  of 
these  tribes  already  rejoice  at  its  settlement,  and  have  requested 
that  their  sons  may  be  received  into  the  colony,  to  learn  mechanical 
arts.  The  colony  has  received  several,  the  sons  of  head-men,  but 
has  been  obliged  to  refuse  others,  for  want  of  accommodations. 


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